Investing

Best Brokerage Promotions And Bonuses July 2018

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: July 17, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

I’ve compiled a list of all the best new online stock broker promotions and offers here. You’ll find promotions for all the well-known popular brokerages (i.e. TD Ameritrade, Ally Invest, E*Trade, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, etc.), as well as others that aren’t as familiar to casual investors.

With these brokerage bonuses, you’ll be able to take advantage of sign-up cash bonuses, free trades, and other nice perks.

If you’re undecided on which stock broker to invest with, see our full review of the best brokers here.

Featured Brokerage Promotions

Here are some of the top brokerage offers at the moment.

TD Ameritrade Promotions

$600 Bonus From TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade is our overall best brokerage pick. They have one of the most powerful platforms in ThinkorSwim, and they’re also constantly providing great promotions and bonuses for signing up.

Currently you can get 60 days of FREE trades and up to a $600 cash bonus. This promotion is valid for new brokerage accounts and IRA accounts.

The free trades and cash bonus offer will depend on the amount you fund within the first 60 days:

Amount Funded	Bonus
$25,000 – $99,999	$100 bonus + Free trades
$100,000 – $249,999	$300 bonus + Free trades
$250,000+	$600 bonus + Free trades

Brokerage Promotion

IRA Promotion

*Tip: Account value of the qualifying account must remain equal to, or greater than, the value after the net deposit was made (minus any losses due to trading or market volatility or margin debit balances) for 12 months to not forfeit the bonus! So don’t withdraw whatever you funded initially for 12 months.

*You may also be interested in the popular bonus offers from TD Bank where you can earn $150-$300 for a new Checking account. Click the button below for all the offer details:

Learn More at TD Bank

*Read our full TD Ameritrade Promotions review

Ally Invest Promotions

Updated offer for up to $3,500 cash in bonuses

Ally Invest is one of the best choices for a low-cost broker. For investors that don’t need a feature-rich platform like TD Ameritrade’s ThinkorSwim, Ally Invest will have everything you need.

Ally’s updated promotion lets you earn up to $3,500 in cash and free trades for 90 days ($500 worth in commissions).

For the cash bonus, you’ll need to fund with at least $10,000 within 60 days of account opening. Your bonus amount, which ranges from $50 to $3500, will depend on your deposit amount.

$3500 & Free Trades Offer

*Read our full Ally Invest Promotions review

SpeedTrader Promotions

SpeedTrader 14 Day Platform Demo Promotion

Try out their platform for active day trading for 14 days

Just go to the offer page and sign up to try out their trading platform free for 14 days.

Learn More at SpeedTrader

SpeedTrader’s other limited time promotion is for $500 in free trades or 1 month of free trading (whichever comes first). Again, just use the link to take advantage of the offer.

Learn More at SpeedTrader

*Read our full SpeedTrader Promotions review


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review.

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC.

Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review

Learn More

Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card.

The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review

The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review

CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review

Learn More

Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review

Learn More

Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

Best New Stock Broker Promotions And Bonuses List!

Below is the complete list of the current brokerage promotions, offers and bonuses. A few of the deals and bonuses are for investment tools and educational services as well, where I deemed them helpful for some. Most of the popular promotions are for new brokerage accounts for trading Stocks, Options, Forex, etc.

You’ll also find a few IRA account promotions for that type of investment as well (read about IRA basics here and where to open an IRA account here).

Click the links below for all the detailed offer terms. Most folks open several new brokerage accounts to earn multiple bonuses!

BROKERAGE	PROMOTION	TERMS	EXPIRATION	REVIEW
Ally Invest	Up to $3,500 cash bonus + commission free trades	Fund within 60 days of account opening to take advantage of a bonus based on your deposit amount.	07/31/2018	Review
Betterment	12 Months Of Free Service	Deposit $15k – $250k within 45 Days.	None	Review
Betterment	12 Months Of Free Service Referral Program	For every friend who funds, you get 30 days free, and each friend gets 3 months free. As a bonus, when your first 3 friends fund, you get an extra free year.	None	Review
Charles Schwab	$100 Brokerage Or IRA Bonus	Minimum opening deposit is $1,000.	None	Review
Charles Schwab	500 Commission-Free Online Trades	Deposit $100,000 Within 45 Days.	None	Review
ChoiceTrade	$5 Flat Rate Per Trade	$5 Rate On NASDAQ And Exchange-Listed Stocks	None	Review
Cobra Trading	Free Platform Demo	Request A Free Demo Of One Of Their Platforms	None	Review
E*TRADE	$2,500 + free trades	$2,500+free trades bonus (Deposit $1,000,000). Click on the offer for all bonus tiers. $10k minimum deposit required for lowest bonus tier.	12/31/2018	Review
Fidelity	500 Free Trades For 2 Years	Deposit $50,000 = 300 Free Trades. Deposit $100,000 = 500 Free Trades	None	Review
Firstrade	$200 Transfer fee rebates	Account Transfer of $2,500 or more	None	Review
Firstrade	$300 Cash + 500 Free Trades	Bonus depends on minimum deposit of $2,000 to $100,000	None	Review
Firstrade	$50 Per Referral	$50 Bonus Per Referral	None	Review
Firstrade	Wire Transfer Fee Rebate (Saves Up to $25/Wire)	Wire $25K or more	Limited Time	Review
FutureAdvisor	Sign Up For Free Service	Many services free to use. Premium accounts have a 0.50% management fee.	None	Review
Just2Trade	$2.50 Per Trade	N/A	None	Review
Lightspeed	Up to $10K Cash Back In Rebates	Use code “10KGOOG“	None	Review
Merrill Edge	30 Free Trades/Month	Keep $25,000 Balance	None	Review
Merrill Edge	$600 Bonus For Investment Or IRA Account	Use offer code ME600. $600 bonus: deposit $200,000. Click on offer to see all bonus tiers.	None	Review
Motif Investing	3 Months free for them/1 Month free for you referral offer	Your referrals must use your referral link for you to earn a month free each time	None	Review
Motif Investing	1 Month Free Impact Account	Use the link and click on “Open Account” to find the offer for the Impact Account	None	Review
Muriel Siebert	N/A		None	Review
Personal Capital	Join For Free	N/A	None	Review
Prosper	Invest In Personal Loans, Earn 6.8%	N/A	None	Review
Robinhood	Unlimited Commission-Free Trades	N/A	None	Review
SigFig	Up To $10,000 Managed Free	Open with $2,000+ (scroll down to see offer)	None	Review
SogoTrade	Free Trades & Up To $100 Reimbursed	Deposit $500 For Free Trades. Transfer At Least $10,000 For $100 Reimbursement.	None	Review
SpeedTrader	14 Free Trial Of Platform	N/A	None	Review
SpeedTrader	$500 In Free Trades	Just use the offer link	None	Review
SureTrader	$50 In Free Trades	Just enter in your email for the offer (you’ll see a pop on the website)	None	Review
SureTrader	Free $100k Trading Account Demo	N/A	None	Review
TD Ameritrade	60 Free Trades & $600 Bonus	$600 Bonus+Free Trades: Deposit $250,000+, $300 Bonus+Free Trades: Deposit $100,000+, $100 Bonus+Free Trades: Deposit $25,000+, Free Trades: Deposit $3,000+	None	Review
TD Ameritrade	$600 IRA Bonus	Deposit Within 60 Days. $600 Bonus: Deposit $250,000+, $300 Bonus: Deposit $100,000+, $100 Bonus: Deposit $25,000+	09/30/2018	Review
TD Ameritrade	$1000 Bonus and 90 Days Free Trades	Deposit $250K for the $1000 bonus and free trades. Click offer for all bonus tiers.	06/30/2018	Review
TD Ameritrade	$1500 Bonus and $150 Transfer Fees Rebate	Fund $500K for the $1500 bonus. Transfer at least $10K to qualify for the $150 Transfer Fee rebate. See offer for all bonus tiers.	09/30/2018	Review
TradeStation	Commission-Free Trading For Active Military	Go to their homepage to find the offer.	None	Review
Trading Lesson	60-day 100% Money Back Guarantee	N/A	None	Review
Wealthfront	$5,000 Managed For Free Invitation	Just use the referral link to get $5,000 managed for free.	None	Review

*If you like these promotions, be sure you browse our Bank Promotions Page and our Chase Promotions Page.

*Bookmark this page to stay up-to-date with the latest brokerage promotions and bonuses.

Best Online Brokers For Trading Stocks July 2018

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: July 1, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

Whether you’re new to stock trading or looking to see what else is out there, there are currently a great deal of stock brokers to choose from. Which stock broker is the best?

There are many newer, lesser known brokers making a splash with good pricing and sign-up promotions. In other industries, considering the smaller players can save money and lead to a good experience. For stock investing and trading, however, we can’t recommend you take this approach.

When deciding which broker is best for you, our experience has shown that cost really shouldn’t be the top priority. Investing is an industry where you want size and experience on your side. Established brokers and investment firms have a solid foundation, have amassed a sizable client base, and have the financial backing to provide the best tools and service.

If you’re buying and holding on to a few stocks a year, saving $5 per transaction should be the least of your concerns. And if you’re looking to day or swing trade, the platform (desktop or mobile software) and trading tools (scanners, education, research) are going to be the most important.

We do understand everyone has different needs and will review the best discount brokers as well – ones that don’t sacrifice much in features and experience.

Another important criteria for those new to investing is what markets are supported by which broker. Markets include Equities (i.e. commonly known stocks like Apple, Google, Facebook…), Futures (e.g. Gold, Oil, Sugar…), Forex (i.e. currency pairs like USD/JPY and EUR/USD), and Options (i.e. Option contracts on common Equities). The ones that are commonly not supported are Futures or Forex, or both. You can trade Equities like your favorite blue chip stocks with all the major brokerages, so that won’t be an issue if you just want to get your hands on some shares of Apple (APPL), Microsoft (MSFT), etc.

While there is no one best stock broker for everyone, there are a handful we strongly recommend you choosing from.

Let’s go through all the talking points below and find out which brokerage is best for your needs.

*See a list of all brokerage bonuses and promotions here

Best Online Stock Brokerages Summary


Broker	Sign-Up Bonus	Best For	Commissions	Rating
TD Ameritrade	$600 Cash Bonus	Overall *Author’s Pick	$6.95
Ally Invest	$3500 Cash & Free Trades	Low Cost	$3.95-$4.95
Charles Schwab	500 Free Trades	Beginners	$4.95
Merrill Edge	$600 Cash Bonus	Research	$6.95
Fidelity	500 Free Trades	Research	$4.95
E*Trade	$2500 Cash Bonus	Markets Selection	$6.95
TradeStation	N/A	Platform & Trading Programming	$5
Interactive Brokers	N/A	Low Cost	$0.005/ Share

Best Overall Online Brokerage Picks

Here are the most versatile brokers that have a proven track record for fulfilling the needs of most investors.


Trade Commission $6.95	Trade Commission $3.95-$4.95
Account Minimum $0	Account Minimum $0
Sign-Up Bonus $600 in bonus cash	Sign-Up Bonus $3500 cash & free trades
Review	Review
Learn More	Learn More

TD Ameritrade and Ally Invest are both top choices that will fit the needs of most investors. These two brokerages have a track record of strong customer support and have no balance or trade minimums. Both have excellent trading platforms, with the ThinkorSwim platform from TD Ameritrade agetting our vote as the best for most traders. Ally’s platform is web-based, and they also have apps for mobile access.

Unlike some popular platforms from other brokers, ThinkorSwim can be used for free once you have an active TD Ameritrade account. While the trade commissions are a bit higher than with the lowest cost brokerages, many traders happily pay that extra little bit in order to have free access to the Trade Architect (Web platform) and ThinkorSwim (more featured desktop software) platforms. You’ll also be able to trade markets other than Stocks (e.g. Forex, Futures, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs) with TD Ameritrade. *TD Ameritrade has updated their commissions pricing for online stock trades to a lower $6.95, further cementing their place as one of the best stock brokers.

Ally completed their acquisition of Tradeking in 2016, making it even more competitive, and has a trading platform sufficient for most. You can trade Forex, Futures, Stocks, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs and Bonds with Ally Invest, so you’re all covered here.

Best Online Brokers For Beginners

What makes these top choices good for beginner investors?

A large library of educational resources to get you up and running
Affordable commissions
Great customer support available 24/7
Large number of commission-free ETFs
Physical branches are available for in-person support


Trade Commission $6.95	Trade Commission $4.95
Account Minimum $0	Account Minimum $1,000
Sign-Up Bonus $600 in bonus cash	Sign-Up Bonus 500 Free Trades
Review	Review
Learn More	Learn More

Just as TD Ameritrade’s customer service is praise by clients, so is Charles Schwab’s. Both of these brokers also have an enhanced database full of step-by-step educational material that uses professionally delivered audio and video. Think of it like sitting through seminars right from the comfort of home.

In regards to in-branch service, Charles Schwab is a step ahead with 300+ locations across the country and TD Ameritrade has over 100. With the late 2016 announcement that TD Ameritrade is set to acquire Scottrade, there will be some forthcoming changes here. Scottrade has over 500 branches across the U.S.

Neither TD Ameritrade or Charles Schwab will charge account maintenance or inactivity fees, making them good choices for new investors looking to get their feet wet. Both also provide commission-free ETFs and no-transaction-fee mutual funds, which are popular with beginner investors due to the diversification nature of these products.

Best Brokers For Investment Market Selection

Whether you currently dab into a variety of markets, or plan to gain some experience with each, you need to know that not all brokerages support all the main markets (Stocks, Forex, Futures, Options and Mutual Funds).

Some new traders jump in and open an account with a brokerage recommended by a colleague or one seen in an ad, only to find out that Futures or Forex trading isn’t available to them. Even several well-known brokers don’t support all markets.


Trade Commission $6.95	Trade Commission $6.95
Account Minimum $0	Account Minimum $500
Sign-Up Bonus $600 in bonus cash	Sign-Up Bonus $2,500 bonus cash & free trades
Review	Review
Learn More	Learn More

TD Ameritrade is our overall top pick for a reason, and they are one of the top choices in this category as well. With both TD Ameritrade and E*Trade, you’ll be able to trade all markets – Stocks, Options, Mutual Funds, Forex and Futures.

E*Trade is yet another big, reputable brokerage firm and also has around 30 physical branches across the United States. As with many other top broker choices, E*Trade offers 24/7 customer support along with vast educational resources. They’re consistently continuing their growth, and acquired OptionsHouse in 2016.

Similar to TD Ameritrade, E*Trade offers web, desktop, and mobile platforms for investors and active traders. For active traders, we find TD Ameritrade’s ThinkorSwim to be more of a proven favorite.

Best Online Brokers For Research

Here are two of the best brokers with professional Research tools, which will help to analyze Stocks and markets with data from financial records, economic reports, company assets, market share etc.

Over time, investors find their own method of evaluating SEC filings, trade magazines, online reviews and company news to know more about a company or market. A brokerage that offers streamlined Research to give you a better understanding of your potential investment will save you valuable time.


Trade Commission $4.95	Trade Commission $6.95
Account Minimum $2,500	Account Minimum $0
Sign-Up Bonus 500 Free Trades	Sign-Up Bonus $600 in bonus cash
Review	Review
Learn More	Learn More

Both Fidelity and Merrill Edge provide top-notch Research capabilities for your stock analysis needs. Fidelity is one of the best in the business and has research from more than 20 providers to help narrow down quality recommendations. Merrill Edge, a Bank of America corporation, has Research from it’s own BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research as well as well-known providers like Morningstar, Lipper, S&P Capital IQ and Recognia.

Best Low-Cost/Discount Brokers

We believe the difference in the cost of commissions between all the best brokers isn’t significant enough to be a major criteria in your decision process. Not everyone is in the same boat, and sometimes finding the lowest cost broker is necessary. If you’re entering and exiting many trades with a low number of shares, trade commissions can really put a dampen on your bottom line.

Here are two of the best brokers for lower commission costs that don’t sacrifice in other necessary features.


Trade Commission $3.95-$4.95	Trade Commission $0.005/share
Account Minimum $0	Account Minimum $10,000
Sign-Up Bonus $3500 cash & free trades	Sign-Up Bonus N/A
Review
Learn More	Learn More

If you’re searching for the lowest commission costs possible, take a look at the Robinhood app, which only focuses on commission-free trading. We feel that if you’ve done your due diligence and don’t have a need for quality platforms, educational resources, research or investment options, then Robinhood may fit your needs. It’s for investors who want to buy and sell stocks only.

Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) and Interactive Brokers are two good choices if you’re looking for a reputable “discount broker” that retains features important to most. Between the two, Ally Invest will usually be the better option given the $0 account minimum, versus the $10,000 account minimum required by Interactive Brokers.

Interactive Brokers stands out for frequent traders who can meet the monthly trading activity and $10,000 account balance by providing great volume discounts. Another win for Interactive Brokers is their offerings of 50 commission-free ETFs and 1,700 no-transaction-fee mutual funds.

The Runner-Ups

Here are some other good brokerage options that provide certain features that can benefit many investors.

Tradestation has had one of the most highly rated trading platforms for the past several years and is one of the few platforms that allows for programming and app creation with their proprietary EasyLanguage development tool. TradeStation no longer supports Forex trading, but you can still trade all the other instruments/markets. Updated pricing is now $5 per Stock/ETF trade and $0.50 per contract/$5 per trade for Options. Review

Learn More

Stock Brokers Detailed Comparison

Broker Review	Promotion	Commissions	Account Minimum	Instruments	Web or Software?
Ally Invest	$3500 cash & free trades	Stocks & ETFs $3.95 to $4.95/trade online Options $3.95 to $4.95 + $0.50 to $0.65/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Web
TD Ameritrade	$600 cash bonus & free trades	Stocks & ETFs $6.95/trade online Options $6.95 + $0.75/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Both
Capital One Investing	No longer available; transitioning to ETrade	Stocks & ETFs $6.95/trade online Options $6.95 + $0.75/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Web
Charles Schwab	500 Free Trades	Stocks & ETFs $4.95/trade online Options $4.95 + $0.65/contract	$1,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Both
eOption		Stocks & ETFs $3.00/trade online Options $3.00 + $0.15/contract	$500	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Software
E*Trade	$2,500 cash bonus & free trades	Stocks & ETFs $6.95/trade online Options $6.95 + $0.75/contract	$500	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Both
Fidelity	500 Free Trades	Stocks & ETFs $4.95/trade online Options $4.95 + $0.65/contract	$2,500		Both
Interactive Brokers		Stocks & ETFs $0.005/share traded ($1 minimum) Options $0.70/contract ($1 minimum)	$10,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Both
Kapitall		Stocks & ETFs $7.95/trade online Options N/A	$0	Stock ~~Options~~ Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Web
Lightspeed Trading	Up To $10,000 cash back	Stocks & ETFs $4.50/trade online Options $0.60/contract	$5,000	Stock Options ~~Mutual Funds~~ FOREX Futures	Both
Livevol		Stocks & ETFs $0.0065/share traded ($1.50 minimum) Options $0.65/contract ($1.50 minimum)	$35,000	Stock Options ~~Mutual Funds~~ ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Software
Merrill Edge	$600 in bonus cash	Stocks & ETFs $6.95/trade online Options $6.95 + $0.75/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Both
OptionsXpress		Stocks & ETFs $4.95/trade online Options $4.95 + $0.65/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Web
PlaceTrade		Stocks & ETFs $0.01/share traded ($1.50 minimum) Options $0.75/contract ($1.50 minimum)	$5,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Both
SogoTrade	Free trades & up to $100 back	Stocks & ETFs $5.00/trade online Options $5.00 +$0.50/contract	$0	Stock Options ~~Mutual Funds~~ ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Web
SpeedTrader	$500 in free trades	Stocks & ETFs $4.49/trade online Options $4.49 +$0.40/contract	$30,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ ~~Futures~~	Both
TradeStation	Check for updates	Stocks & ETFs $5 per trade Options $5 & $0.50/contract	$5,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Both
TradingBlock		Stocks & ETFs $7.50/trade online Options $7.50 + $0.75/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ Futures	Both
USAA		Stocks & ETFs $8.95/trade online Options $8.95 + $0.75/contract	$0	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ Futures	Web
Vanguard		Stocks & ETFs $7.00/trade online Options $20.00 + $1.00/contract	$3,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds FOREX Futures	Web
Wells Fargo		Stocks & ETFs $8.95/trade online Options $9.95 + $1.00/contract	$1,000	Stock Options Mutual Funds ~~FOREX~~ Futures	Software

Other Top Pages At MoneysMyLife

SigFig Automated Investing Review 2018: First $10,000 Managed Free

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: June 28, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

SigFig is brought to you by the same people who founded Wikinvest more than a decade ago in 2006. Operational in its own right since 2011, they have around 300,000 clients and manage over $70 million in assets. SigFig’s focus is on easy accessibility and being transparent with their customers, providing clear information to them specifically relating to fees. SigFig will assess your overall holdings based on their cost, performance, and diversification. Using unique algorithms, it will then ascertain any potential gains you might have.

This robo-advisor service makes it easy to add and link up your existing accounts without needing to hand over the reigns entirely or transfer cash into their service.

SigFig is very good at keeping customers informed about the rationale behind their investments. They are an open book in terms of explaining where the money is and why it is there. It explains precisely how they make their calculations and this level of access to information is something we like about their offering.

Account management is available for just $10 monthly. They have a great track record regarding delivering strong returns to their Investors and are also ranked highly in terms of their overall security of their operations too. For the Investor who does not have the time to manage their own portfolio, or who does not want to hire an independent Financial Advisor, SigFig delivers great value for money.

What makes SigFig stand out over others in this space is their focus on the methodology and their desire to help their clients to understand the details of what is going on with their money. This education-led approach is popular with many. The information is displayed in a clean and simple dashboard that lays everything out in an easy to understand manner. They also post an abundance of useful articles and news on the site which help those looking to refine their trading or investment strategies.

Overall Rating
Account Minimum		$2,000 $100,000 for a Diversified Income Portfolio
Account Management Fee		1st $10,000 is managed free/0.25% above $10k Diversified Income Portfolio fee: 0.50%
Portfolio Mix		ETFs from 9 asset classes
Investment Expense Ratios		0.07% to 0.14%
Account Types		Individual & Joint non-retirement accounts Roth, Traditional, SEP, Rollover IRAs Trusts
Tax Strategy		Free tax-loss harvesting on all accounts
Automatic rebalancing		Free on all accounts
Customer Support		Phone, Email, Chat
Promotions?		First $10,000 is managed for free

Different Levels Of SigFig Services

They offer three types of services to clients which are:

Asset Management
Portfolio Tracking
Diversified Income

Asset Management costs 0.25% once you reach a balance of $10,000. Anything between $2,000-$9,999 is free from annual management fees. It is great for retaining a balanced portfolio that is equally diverse and allows you to optimize your investment earnings. The minimum amount you need to invest in this service is $2,000.

The portfolio tracking service provided by SigFig is free of charge. It will aggregate your investment portfolio and deliver an easy to view snapshot via their dashboard. There is no minimum investment required for this service.

A diversified income account costs 0.50% in management fees. This allows you to maximize your bonds, CDs, US treasuries, and bank interest rates in a low-rate environment. The minimum investment required for this service is $100,000.

Who Is SigFig Suitable For?

SigFig supports a range of account types such as 401(k) plans, IRA Accounts, Roth IRA Accounts, Taxable Accounts, and SEP IRA Accounts.
With a low account minimum of $2,000, they are able to attract those who are new to investing, or who have only a small amount of capital to invest.
Those who are looking to learn about investment decisions and understand the ‘why’ behind what they do
If you do not require human support from a Financial Advisor

How Does SigFig Work?

Unlike others in this space, SigFig is not concerned with taking a portion of your managed assets as commission. Some of the revenue they earn comes from the referrals they make to brokers and advisors. However, the recommendations they make are not based on these commissions; they are driven with SigFig’s unique algorithms.

Another good point about the services offered by SigFig is the progress they have made in recent years which has been impressive, to say the least. If you have a modest portfolio, this means you get sound advisory services from the site without paying the hefty prices that can traditionally be associated with such advice.

If you do not have a managed account, you are still able to get a lot of useful information from your personalized dashboard. You are able to tailor the recommendations based on your preferences which relate precisely to your tolerance for risk and your own portfolio. Once you have updated your information, the algorithms then work out the optimal allocation of your holdings in just a few seconds. The data is presented in real-time and gives you an overview of your portfolio which can be actively compared to different indexes such as the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones.

SigFig also allows investors to compare the fees that their chosen advisor is charging, relative to their portfolio performance. This is particularly useful as it will then offer suggestions and will recommend Financial Advisors who are within your locality who can offer a better level of performance and more competitive fees. Anyone who is listed as a recommended Advisor on the site has been fully verified and vetted by SigFig beforehand, and they are required to sustain performance standards in order to retain their place on the SigFig platform.

If you are new to investing and looking to learn the ropes, then SigFig is a great service to use. If you haven’t got the time to rebalance your portfolio by going through a ton of information, this education-driven approach will be invaluable. The vast amount of information that is presented on the dashboard, coupled with their simple interface and low fees make it a great option for people looking for a low-cost entry route into the word of investing.

SigFig Portfolio Manager

In order for SigFig to optimize your portfolio, they will undertake a deep analysis using a system called SigFig Scores. This looks at a number of factors before ascertaining any recommendations. It considers fees, risk, asset class, third-party ratings, the Sharpe Ratio and the trading costs of your funds. It will then perform an analysis on the historical risk-adjusted returns over the past three years for each specific fund, providing you with data that pertains to any predicted fluctuation along with recommendations for higher-yielding funds. It will also deliver you information about any opportunities to lower your fees and any recommendations it gives will match up with your risk tolerance profile.

If you have a managed account, then this will only invest in ETFs that are commission free, such as iShares, Schwab, and Vanguard. This approach also delivers certain tax advantages as well, which is another reason we like the SigFig approach.

Pros And Cons Of SigFig

Pros

Free Portfolio Tracking. We love the fact that SigFig offers this service for free. You get a handy summary sent to you each week that tells you how your investments are performing. It also tells you the top-performing investments and provides you with a snapshot of investment news alongside your own portfolio’s individual performance.
Low Minimum Investment. With SigFig, you can get access to their managed service with just $2,000 worth of funds. Compared to others, this is a relatively low investment amount. Competitors like Betterment (no minimum) and Wealthfront ($500 minimum) do a bit better if the $2,000 minimum is an issue.
No Management Fees up to $10,000. You will not start paying any annual fees with SigFig until you reach the $10,000 mark, anything under that is managed for free. This makes the offering quite appealing to those who want to test their services without first needing to pay any fees.
Tax Loss Harvesting
Accessibility. Accessible from Apple and Android devices as well as from the desktop

Cons

Fee-Driven Service. The whole service tends to be fee driven. While it is always good to know that your fees are competitive, where investments are concerned, it should not be the driving force behind all of your decisions.
Recommendations with High Fees. Speaking of fees, we were surprised to see that SigFig suggested some funds with higher fees when there were other options which were available at a lower cost.

SigFig Summary

The features that SigFig provide can be most similarly found in Personal Capital’s offering. The only exception to this is that the Financial Advisors are via third-parties and not in-house such as is the case with Personal Capital. One of the most commonly reported ways to use this site is as an aggregator of services.

You can tell that SigFig has placed a great deal of time and focus on the usability of their platform. It is easy to navigate through, and if you want to compare the features of other providers, then this is really easy to do with SigFig.

The daily updates, along with the clear and transparent breakdown of the fees give you a good overview of your portfolio. However, one of the really confusing aspects of their service that puts a lot of people off using it relates to the recommended funds. Even though the services are unbiased towards specific Financial Advisors, it does have a tendency to recommend funds with higher fees. This is also one of the reasons that SigFig comes up short in a lot of the independent reviews of the service.

Although calculations provided by SigFig do not take into account a longer period, it is stated that they depend too heavily on the Sharpe Ratio to dictate potential future performance.

We feel the standout feature of the SigFig offering is the free investment portfolio tracker and the aggregation features. As a service, SigFig creates a very transparent way for Investors to manage their portfolio. The patent-pending algorithms provide a suite of useful and up to date information that allows users to easily compare providers and their fees.

Overall, it delivers great value, and with the low management fees and low deposit amount, it is a great tool that will help you learn about investing and understand the rationale behind the decisions that are made. With the increasingly difficult task of understanding exactly who charges what fees, or where the hidden fees might be, SigFig makes it easy to see who is offering the best deal and provides an easy way to save time which might have otherwise been spent sifting through complex pages trying to ascertain this information.

Learn More at SigFig

Compare All Top Robo-Advisors

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

TD Ameritrade Promotions: $600, $1500, $2500 Cash Bonus Offers

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: June 9, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

Current TD Ameritrade promotions will earn you $100, $200, $300, $500, $600 and on up to $2,500 in bonus cash, along with free trades.

You can trade everything from Stocks, Options, ETFs, Futures and Forex with TD Ameritrade and it is by far one of the best online brokerages around – in fact, it ranks #1 on our list. I personally use TD Ameritrade and its awesome ThinkorSwim platform to do all my trading.

This article will focus on the best current promotions and offers for signing up with TD Ameritrade.

*You may also be interested in the current Checking account bonuses from TD Bank. TD Bank Group has an ownership interest in TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation, the parent company of TD Ameritrade, Inc.

TD Ameritrade Free Trades And $600 Bonus

Get Up To $600 With This Offer

Currently you can get 60 days of FREE trades and up to a $600 cash bonus. This promotion is valid for new brokerage accounts and IRA accounts.

Offer is ongoing
Receive 60 days of free trades and up to $600 bonus
New Individual, Joint or IRA are eligible accounts
Bonus amount depends on amount funded (see below)
Current Offer Code: 220 (check offer page for updates)

$600 Bonus Offer

Other Promotion Links

IRA Account Free Trades And $600 Bonus

Bonus Requirements

Fund the account within 60 calendar days to receive a bonus.
You’ll get 60 days of FREE trades: Qualified commission-free Internet equity, ETF or options orders will be limited to a maximum of 500 and must execute within 60 calendar days of account funding. Deposit at least $3,000 for the free trades offer.
Your bonus cash amount depends on your amount funded:

Amount Funded	Bonus
$25,000 – $99,999	$100 bonus + Free trades
$100,000 – $249,999	$300 bonus + Free trades
$250,000+	$600 bonus + Free trades

*Tips:
- Account value of the qualifying account must remain equal to, or greater than, the value after the net deposit was made (minus any losses due to trading or market volatility or margin debit balances) for 12 months to not forfeit the bonus!
  - So don’t withdraw whatever you funded initially for 12 months.


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

$1,500 Bonus And $150 Transfer Fee Rebate

Earn up to a $1,500 cash bonus and get $150 in transfer fee rebates when switching over to TD Ameritrade. This promotion is marketed to TD Bank customers.

Expiration: 09/30/2018
Eligible Accounts: new Individual, Joint, IRA account or a new account using the Amerivest service.
Bonus Requirements:
- New accounts funded with $3,000 or more are eligible for free trades.
- Accounts using the Amerivest service require a minimum funding of $25,000 and are not eligible to receive the free trades.
- You must fund the account within 180 days.
- You’ll also receive 60 days of commission-free trades with a $3,000 deposit.
- You qualify to get a $150 transfer fee rebate with a minimum transfer of $10,000.
- Bonus cash depends on amount funded:

$1,500 bonus	$500,000+ funded
$1,000 bonus	$250-$499,999 funded
$500 bonus	$100,000-$249,999 funded
$200 bonus	$50,000-$99,999 funded
$50 bonus	$10,000-$49,999 funded

Learn More

Up To $1,000 Bonus And 90 Days Of Free Trades

You can earn 300 free trades for 90 days and up to $1,000 in bonus cash with this TD Ameritrade offer.

Offer Code: 277
Expiration: 06/30/2018 (renews often)
Accounts Eligible: New Individual, Joint or IRA TD Ameritrade account
Requirements:
- Fund within 60 days of accounts opening.
- Bonus depends on your deposit amount:

You Get	When You Deposit
300 commission-free internet equity & options trades for 90 days	$3,000
300 commission-free internet equity & options trades for 90 days + $100 bonus	$25,000 – $49,999
300 commission-free internet equity & options trades for 90 days + $200 bonus	$50,000 – $99,999
300 commission-free internet equity & options trades for 90 days + $500 bonus	$100,000 – $249,999
300 commission-free internet equity & options trades for 90 days + $1,000	$250,000+

Learn More

TD Ameritrade $200 Bonus Per Referral!

$200 Referral Bonus!

Once you’ve got an account open, you can start making referrals to earn up to a $200 bonus or 20 free online trades. To find the offer, log into your TD Ameritrade account and click on the “Client Services” tab.

This promotion comes and goes, and may revert back to a $50 referral bonus so just check your account to see the current offer.
You can refer up to 10 friends and family members per day (up to 50 per month)
Referral reward offer valid for existing clients who successfully refer a new TD Ameritrade account that is funded with at least $3,000 within 90 days from the date of referral.
Offer is not valid with internal transfers, TD Ameritrade Institutional accounts, accounts managed by TD Ameritrade Investment Management, LLC, or with other offers.
Promotional items and cash received during the calendar year will be included in your consolidated Form 1099.
Limit one offer per qualified referral.
Choose between a $200 bonus OR 20 free online trades.
- $200 cash: Please allow one to two business days from the time the referred individual has opened and funded their TD Ameritrade account with the required $3,000 minimum to receive your $200 credit to your account. Offer is not transferable. Offer not available to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) or other tax-exempt accounts.
- 20 commission-free trades: Twenty commission-free Internet equity or options trades will be credited to your account one to two business days after the referred individual has opened and funded a new TD Ameritrade account with the required $3,000 minimum. Offer limited to qualified Internet equity or option orders. Commission-free online trades are not transferable. Qualified commission-free Internet equity or options orders must execute within 90 days of account funding. You are still responsible for any contract, exercise and assignment fees charged on option orders.
Good news is, your friend will also receive a special welcome offer to get started as well.

*If you’d like to provide your first/last name and email address using our contact form, I will refer you for the promotion. Many thanks ahead of time for this!

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Compare The Best Brokerage Bonuses Below

You might also want to take a look at automated-investing firms like Wealthfront, Fundrise and FutureAdvisor.

Bookmark this page for updates on new TD Ameritrade promotions and offers!

Fundrise Review: Real Estate Automated Investing

Saving your cash has never been more prevalent and required, than it is in the world we live in today. Most of us, hopefully, have had it drummed into our heads as we grew up, that putting money away for a rainy day is important. Some of us stuck it in the bank, hoping that the interest rate would make it grow; others put it in that lovely glass jam jar or pink porcelain pig on the counter, ready for the day we needed to smash it up. And, some more savvy individuals, put their well-earned money and savings into proper investment vehicles.

Deciding what investment vehicles to use can be tricky. There are many out there all promising the world and more. Fundrise is one such option you can consider. They’re a rising firm featured on Forbes, Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and I’ll review what strategy they use in the investing world.

Fundrise Features
Minimum Investment	$500
Fees	0.85% per year
Year Founded	2012
REITs	Yes
Property Types	Commercial

Start Investing With $500+

What Is Fundrise All About?

: Fundrise’s trademarked eREITs

From their start in 2012, Fundrise has evolved from the typical crowdfunding form of investment house, to providing their clients with a one-stop platform to invest in stocks and bonds. If you ever wanted to invest in property, here is a good place to do it, with less risk than actually buying property outright.

Fundrise has designed a unique process of getting your money into the real estate market. They call it eREIT, which is short for Electronic Real Estate Investment Trust. They also invest in eFunds or electronic funds.

If you know a bit about mutual funds or ETFs, then eREIT investing will sit better with you. For those not in the know, a mutual fund is where you invest into a program managed by professionals and where the funding comes from the shareholders. An ETF, or exchange-traded fund, allows funds to be invested and are spread across various vehicles, such as bonds, commodities, and other assets, such as you would find in an index fund. The price changes on a daily basis as they are sold and bought.

What Are eREIT’s Exactly?

With the eREIT there are some fundamental differences from mutual funds and ETFs – the fees are lower, and you do not deal with a broker or intermediary, but rather directly with Fundrise. And, as we all know, a broker would need to take their portion of fees, so this drastically allows Fundrise to reduce the fees due.

What Are eFunds?

Electronic Funds are also exclusive to Fundrise and also are investments in real estate. Unlike the eREIT, eFunds are not publicaly traded. They are also taxed very differently, and in fact, you make a savings here, by avoiding double taxation, as they are set up as partnerships, and not as corporations. As with their eREIT’s, you do not accrue broker fees or commissions. The eFunds are generally used for the Growth packages, as they are built better for this goal.

What Are The Fees?

Fundrise charges an annual asset management fee of 0.85% for the eDirect funds (eREITs and eFunds). Clients of the investment services and management system will pay an additional 0.15% annual investment advisory fee.

The founders, among having very strong ideas about providing an investment vehicle for the everyday man, also strongly disagreed with a high fee structure, which oftentimes, ate into the investment.

Fundrise Pros And Cons

PROS	CONS
Low minimum investment contribution ($500)	Lack of liquidity as they are not traded on the markets. However, they do offer quarterly distributions and redemptions (they are unfortunately not guaranteed)
Less risky than investing directly in real estate	Tax liability – distributions are taxed as regular income, as opposed to the 15% charged on qualified dividends
Low fees	In comparison to Index Funds, their fee structure is higher
Pre-funded with their own capital	The average investment is less than $10,000, in comparison to other crowdfunding sites like Realty Mogul, which edges on $60,000
Big players in the industry back the Fundrise way of investing	Not open to non-U.S. citizens (at least not yet – although they suggest you can make a request if you’re an international client)
The deals are quality (and Fundrise only approves 2% of their deals)
Their track record is one of the best in the investment industry
There is no minimum criteria in terms of your own credentials (i.e. experience, gender, area code, income, etc.)
90-Day Guarantee is given to all new investors. What this means is that if you are not satisfied with the rewards gained in the first 3 months, you can close your account and Fundrise will buy your investment back at the original price you paid for it. Please note that there are certain limitations, terms and conditions.
Diversity – their spread of real estate options allow you to ensure you smooth out any risk you are not happy with in the mix
Accountability Policy – explained in detail below. In short, this is a guarantee that Fundrise offers each and every investor

Why Fundrise?

Fundrise was developed by the founders, Dan and Ben Miller, wanting to create a platform for the man on the street to invest in property. Bringing the real estate to the investor, instead of them going to the real estate. The upliftment of communities was key to their idea.

While most of their projects are based in Washington, D.C. where they started, they have branched up into the New York state area and are starting to venture further up the East Coast. Other areas, including Chicago, Dallas and the West Coast, are also on their geographical map.

What Properties Does Fundrise Invest In?

Fundrise investment packages are made up of their unique eREIT’s and eFunds. Depending on which strategy option you choose (see next section) your investment basket will form a mix of these two types of funds.

As for the types of properties that Fundrise invests in, they do not want to rule out any forms of property into their fund, and have a good mix of condominiums, single and multi-family homes, industrial buildings, retail developments, and many other multi-use properties. They look at both complete projects and those in the construction phase, urban infill, and those needing rehab.

Stats show that in 2015, Fundrise was investing in over $525 million of real estate assets, and more impressively, they were giving their investors an average annual return of nearly 13% net. Those figures are what make Fundrise a very good option for many investors, and it appears they are only showing more growth year in and year out.

Fundrise Investment Options

Every good investment decision begins with a strategy. And, Fundrise has made it easy for you to decide which strategy of theirs will be the best option.

They realize that many of their potential investors will not have the know-how around real estate or even around investing, so they have provided a nifty and easy to use calculator. All you have to do is answer the questions posed to you and the calculator will give you the best strategy package based on those questions.

In addition, Fundrise promotes Goal-Based Investing:

Income Only
Income and Growth
Growth Only

Then, you apply the strategy option that best works for you, open your account after the simple registration process, start depositing funds, and see how your money grows.

The portfolio strategies on offer are three great choices, giving you real diversity:

Supplemental Income (Create an attractive, consistent passive income stream)

Objective: Income

Should you be looking to supplement your income, this is a great way to do it. Targeted at those getting near to retirement, or for those just wanting an additional income, the Supplemental Income package is perfect.

With a low variability, a decent time horizon for growth, and a passive income offering, you will find it in this package.

Balanced Investing (Build wealth confidently with the maximum level of diversification)

Objective: Income & Growth

If your aim is to build on what you already have, wanting to see results can increase your wealth basket, the Balanced Investing package is ideal.

Expect to leave your investment in for a moderate to long term period, and be open to many diverse avenues on the investment pickings. There are minimal risk factors with this investment package.

Long-Term Growth (Pursue maximum overall returns over the long term)

Objective: Growth

This is the package where you need to leave your money and not think about it. The Long-Term Growth package is built for the person that only wants to withdraw after many years. The results over this time will be great, but patience is the key here. Your investment is gauged into aggressive risk portfolios in the real estate market, and you will see many ups and downs as the years go by.

The Accountability Policy

Now, this is a real rare addition to any investment company’s modus operandi. Fundrise, having such confidence in their real estate mix, has added in an Accountability Policy for those clients investing in the Income and Growth packages. (The Supplemental Investing and the Long-Term Growth options, as mentioned above)

Those investing in the Growth package will find that Fundrise will pay a penalty up to $500,000 should they not perform more than a 20% non-compounded return in any given annual period.
The Income package investors – should you not earn at least a 15% annualized return, Fundrise will not charge you the asset management fee. This pertains to those in the first 2 years of investment, and expires at end of 2017.

How Accessible Is Fundrise?

While they are a growing company, they pride themselves on being available to potential investors and those already investing in Fundrise. They are also firm believers in educating their investors, and if you look on their website, they have a neat drop-down menu where you can source a great deal of information. From advanced investing, to just how real estate investing works, you can have a good read. The reading is simple and in layman’s terms in order to assist all levels of investors.

Their email contact link is managed quite closely, and replies back can be expected anywhere between 24 and 48 hours.

The team is clearly outlined on their website, giving you all the credentials of each and every person involved, down to their Office Administrator (who happens to be a dog called Zappa) – clearly a joke, but I like their humor.

Fundrise Promotions?

I’m not sure how long the offer will continue, but once you’re a customer you can start making referrals and earn 90 days of no advisory fees per referral. Just log into your account and you’ll see the option on the sidebar or under the menus.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, given all the facts,I am quite impressed with Fundrise’s formula and unique offerings.

Are you the right candidate for investing in Fundrise? Well, if you can afford a minimum of $500 to invest, are a U.S. resident and are over the age of 18, you can certainly get started. Their typical investor is in the 30 to 40 age bracket and invests around $15,000 on average. If you do live outside the U.S., you can certainly contact Fundrise to determine eligibility. Simply pop them an email to see what they can do for you.

With their Accountability Policy and other fair fee spreads, the investment is pretty sound and easily managed.

I suggest you take some time in reading about Fundrise online. Sip some coffee while you go through a few of their interesting articles, and then give them a try when you’re ready.

I wish you good luck and leave you to make the right decision for your hard-earned income and/or savings.

Start Investing With $500+

Disclosure:

The information contained herein neither constitutes an offer for nor a solicitation of interest in any securities offering; however, if an indication of interest is provided, it may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind prior to being accepted following the qualification or effectiveness of the applicable offering document, and any offer, solicitation or sale of any securities will be made only by means of an offering circular, private placement memorandum, or prospectus. No money or other consideration is hereby being solicited, and will not be accepted without such potential investor having been provided the applicable offering document. Joining the Fundrise Platform neither constitutes an indication of interest in any offering nor involves any obligation or commitment of any kind.The publicly filed offering circulars of the issuers sponsored by Rise Companies Corp., not all of which may be currently qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission, may be found at www.fundrise.com/oc.

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

More Investing Offers You May Like

Read about the best online stock brokers here and get updated promotions here.

Ally Invest $3500 Bonus Cash & Free Trades Promotion

TradeKing is now Ally Invest. We’ll update this page with any new promotions and bonuses that get offered by Ally Invest.

Ally acquired TradeKing in 2016 and has been working on bringing the two companies together. Current TradeKing users will have to transition over to Ally to access their accounts and start trading again.

Prior to the change, TradeKing was very good about offering promotions for free trades, transfer fee reimbursements, and referral bonuses.

I’ll review the current offers from Ally Invest below.

*You can see all the current Stock Broker promotions here.

Ally Invest $3,500 Cash & Free Trades Offer

Updated offer for up to $3,500 cash in bonuses

With this updated promotion from Ally Invest, you can earn anywhere from a $50 to $3500 cash bonus, as well as $500 in free trades for 90 days. If you’re transferring over from another brokerage, you can apply for a Transfer Fee Credit of up to $150 also.

Cash Bonus:
- Funding – Accounts must be opened by the expiration date and funded within 60 days of account opening.
- The qualifying deposit to open the new account must be from outside Ally Invest.
- The new account must be funded with a minimum qualifying deposit of $10,000 or more to receive the Minimum Cash Bonus and Commission-Free Trades for up to 90 days Bonus.
- The minimum qualifying funds to receive bonus offer must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 90 days from the date of funding.
- Accounts will receive the specified credit, depending on the initial deposit amount, deposited into the account within ten (10) days of meeting the qualifying requirements.
- Once the account is credited, the bonus and initial qualifying deposit is not available for withdrawal for 300 days after the requirements have been met.
- If the qualifying deposit(s) are removed the bonus payout may be revoked.
- See the table below for the deposit required for each bonus amount.

Bonus Amount	Deposit or Transfer Amount
$3,500 and free trades	$2MM+
$2,500 and free trades	$1MM – $1.99MM
$1,200 and free trades	$500k – $999.9k
$600 and free trades	$250k – $499.9k
$300 and free trades	$100k – $249.9k
$200 and free trades	$25k – $99.9k
$50 and free trades	$10k – $24.9k

Commission-Free Trades for up to 90 Days Bonus:
- The qualifying deposit of $10,000 or more must be received and remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of 90 days from date of funding account or Ally Invest may charge the account for the cost of the trades credited to the account.
- New accounts receive $500 in commission credit for equity, ETF and option trades executed within 90 days of funding the new account.
- Commission credit applies to the per contract commission.
- The commission credit takes up to 2 business days from the funding date to be applied.
- Unused trades expire at the end of 90 days from the funding date of the new account.
- You will not receive cash compensation for any unused free trade commissions.
- Mutual fund, bonds, exercise and assignment fees still apply.
$150 Transfer Fee Credit:
- Must complete a first-time ACATS account transfer of $2,500 or more to receive a Transfer Fee Credit of up $150 to cover the outgoing transfer fee from your current brokerage firm.
- ACAT forms must be received within 15 days of opening new account.
- Credit will be deposited to your account within 30 days of receipt of evidence of charge.
- This transfer reimbursement offer does not apply to Termination Fees or Maintenance Fees.
- Not valid for any retirement or ERISA qualified accounts.
- Offer is not transferable.
- Open to US residents only.
- Excludes current Ally Invest Securities, LLC account holders.
- Excludes former Ally Invest Securities, LLC (formerly TradeKing Securities LLC) account holders who have closed their accounts within the past 90 days.

Learn More


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

New Ally Invest Pricing & Info

As you would expect, being a new entry to the investing space, Ally Invest is coming out with lower pricing for Stock and Options trades compared to many top brokerages. Below is a quick pricing breakdown and more important info on Ally Invest.

You can see pricing for all the best brokerages here.
Markets you can trade with Ally Invest
- Stocks
- Options
- Bonds
- ETFs
- Mutual Funds
- Futures
- Forex
Ally Android App.
Ally Apple App.
Enjoy 24/7 customer care with Ally Invest. With the move to Ally, TradeKing is now known as Ally Invest. Contact them 24/7 at 855-880-2559 or by email at [email protected]
Ally Invest pricing stays the same as it was with TradeKing

Learn More

Compare Ally Invest Pricing With Top Brokerages

BROKER	STOCK TRADES	OPTIONS (BASE)	OPTIONS (PER CONTRACT)
Ally Invest	$3.95-$4.95	$3.95-$4.95	$0.50-$0.65
Charles Schwab	$4.95	$4.95	$0.65
E*Trade	$6.95	$6.95	$0.75
Fidelity	$4.95	$4.95	$0.65
Merrill Edge	$6.95	$6.95	$0.75
TD Ameritrade	$6.95	$6.95	$0.75

*Confirm current rates with the brokerage(s)

Learn More

Bottom Line

For current TradeKing users, the transition over to Ally will be an easy one, with pricing and most features remaining the same. You’ll only really notice name branding and URL changes. For new users who are looking for a low cost brokerage, Ally Invest is a great choice and the current promotion definitely makes them worth consideration. For experienced investors, I still recommend TD Ameritrade overall for their fantastic ThinkorSwim platform and long track record (they’ve also lowered their pricing for 2017 and acquired Scottrade).

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Compare All The Best Brokerages

See the best online stock brokers and current brokerage promotions and bonuses.

I’ll update this page with new Ally Invest promotions and bonuses once they become available.

Personal Capital Review 2018 | Legit Or Not Worth It?

Personal Capital was founded by Bill Harris, the former CEO of PayPal and Intuit. They provide a managed service that is primarily targeted towards clients with large balances. They also offer a range of free financial management tools.

Their managed approach is a blend of professionally certified human advisors combined with robo-advisors. If your account has a balance of $200,000+, then you will have the pleasure of two dedicated Financial Advisors. If your balance is between $100k-$200k, then you still get access to this support, however it is provided by a team of Financial Advisors, as opposed to dedicated and named individuals.

Learn More at Personal Capital

What Are Personal Capital’s Credentials?

With more than 1.6 million users and managed assets of more than $6.5 billion, they operate a successful business in this market.

Personal Capital delivers a host of free products, such as their investment management tools which can also be accessed via a handy app. Their free financial tracking tool is pretty good. It is quick and painless to link-up numerous accounts to this service and well worth a try. As a user of this service, you can link any existing accounts which will then allow you to keep track of your overall portfolio performance, net worth, overall retirement progress and fees. You can add bank accounts, IRA, 403(b), 401(k), taxable investments, mortgage, credit cards, and other investments such as the peer-to-peer lending services offered by Lending Club.

One of the first points to note about Personal Capital is the rather high account management fees that come with the service. They charge 0.89% annually, which is much higher than robo-advisors like Wealthfront and Betterment. It’s only when your account balance is at least $1 million do you get discounted rates.

Who Is Personal Capital Suitable For?

If you are an investor with lots of capital, Personal Capital may be a good fit. The service also lends itself to those who prefer a hands-off approach to the management of their Investments, and for those who are looking for assistance with tax optimization strategies.

On the other hand, if you are a DIY Investor who is looking for free tools to use to help you with your financial management strategy, the range of free services they offer are pretty impressive as well.

Personal Capital is suitable for high-net-worth individuals who through a large amount of invested capital, can access dedicated personal Financial Advisors. It also delivers a comprehensive range of tools to help DIY Investors analyze their own portfolios without needing to buy-in, or pay for portfolio management services.

Pros And Cons Of Personal Capital

PROS

Financial Advisors

This service is one which attracts investors with large balances. If you have $200k or more, you are provided with two Financial Advisors that will help you with every element of your financial life. Whether you want to ask questions about your mortgage, planning for retirement, refinancing or anything else that may fall into the realms of their financial capabilities, they are there to help you with all of those matters.

If your balance is between $100-$200k, you still get the same expertise. However, it is provided by a team of advisors, as opposed to dealing with the same two individuals. You can access the support from these professionals in a number of ways such as over the phone, by email, or even by a video chat for your added convenience.

Investments

As mentioned in the first point, the managed services from Personal Capital come in two different levels. The lower tier from Personal Capital covers investors who place between $100-$200k with the company. These assets are then invested into an Exchange Traded Funds portfolio which carries an average expense ratio of 0.09% that is weighted.

The upper tier covers those with $200k or more in investments. For customers in this category, they get a completely personalized portfolio that is inclusive of individual securities via a process of Smart Indexing. Essentially, the Smart Indexing process from Personal Capital will equally invest across all sectors; it will not copy an index such as the S&P 500. This approach is also used by other businesses and is otherwise referred to as smart beta.

The people at Personal Capital state that this method of Smart Indexing lessens the risk while providing larger returns for investors. Which, as we know all too well, is the ideal goal for any investor. Personal Capital conducted rigorous tests of this strategy versus the S&P 500 which resulted in demonstrable figures showing that over a single year, Smart Indexing outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 1.5%, with lesser volatility.

What we also like about Personal Capital’s method is the ability for the company to locate individual opportunities for tax-loss harvesting. Through their utilization of individual securities, they are more easily able to select and sell these as required. Another service competing with Personal Capital, Wealthfront, is also able to do this with their direct indexing service.

Security of the Service

Each time you register a new device with Personal Capital, you need to verify either by email or phone that it is genuinely you who is doing this. I rate their overall security as very efficient and more than adequate, which is exactly what you need when you consider how sensitive the data is.

All data contained within the site is fully covered by an encryption service called AES-256. They have stringent internal access controls along with two-factor authentication in place. It is also quite reassuring to know that Personal Capital uses an established company called Yodlee to store all of your brokerage login details. They are also fully governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and regularly undergo compliance related audits to meet with their strict regulations.

One other important point about the security is that the encryption has been independently graded with an ‘A’ rating by Qualys SSL Labs. This rating is better than most in this industry.

Free to Use Tools

Personal Capital offers a comprehensive range of tools that are free to use. They include a 401(k) analysis tool and a spending tracker. They do request that you create an account with them to use this service. However, you do not need to enroll for their paid advisor service to get access to these tools. Once you have completed the sign-up process, you are then free to link any credit cards, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts. They will then analyze your asset allocation contained within your investment accounts and advise you precisely how much cash you need to add to your holdings of specific classes of assets to align to the recommended goal. It is a great tool for DIY Investors to be able to see clearly what adjustments are needed to be made.

Similar to Mint, Personal Capital also provides a full spending analysis. This service will carefully examine your cash flow and arrange expenses conveniently into lists that account for groceries, clothing, restaurants, and healthcare. It will then track any income sources and bills that might be due to the accounts that you have linked.

The retirement planner tool will also consider your investment accounts so that it can forecast whether you will meet your pre-set goals and income requirements for your retirement. This is something which can be adjusted, as can your forecasted income from social security, along with the investment return assumptions, tax, and life expectancy statistics too. This tool from Personal Capital will take into account your daily financial activities, and it will take real-time data from within your Personal Capital Account to deliver estimates of your retirement spending based on what your spending figures are currently.

The final part of the free tools I think is well worth a mention is the Dashboard. This nifty little tool allows you to view your complete financial outlook in a single place. Cash flow, net worth, portfolio allocation, and balancing are all viewable from the Personal Capital dashboard. There is a module which specifically focuses on your holdings and shows you the performance of your investments in either overall dollars or as a percentage of your portfolio. It also clearly indicates whether they are considered to be winning or losing.

CONS

High Account Minimum

The lowest amount you need in order to open an account with Personal Capital is $100,000. Previously, this had been set at $25,000 which although a little high for some, it was competitive and reasonable. However, with the $100k minimum introduced, it is clear the type of customers that Personal Capital is after. Unfortunately, this leaves many unable to take up the wealth management services offered by Personal Capital. Luckily, many other robo-advisors like Wealthfront and Betterment are available without such high minimum balance requirements.

High Management Fee

Compared with the cost of hiring a Financial Advisor, Personal Capital is still very competitively priced. As of 2017, the average advisor would typically charge 1% of your overall managed assets. So, looking at it from this perspective, paying these higher fees and getting a Personal Financial Advisor will still work well for you.

However, when we compare Personal Capital to the competition; others such as Vanguard are much more price competitive with their management fees. Their fees are only 0.30%, regardless of the value of the investments held. However, if you place funds with Vanguard and you want a dedicated Financial Advisor, then you would first need to put up around $500k worth of investments.

If we compare Personal Capital to other robo-advisors who charge on average, around 0.25%, then you start to understand why I feel the management fees are just not competitive at all. I mentioned earlier in this review that there are discounted rates available for those uber-high investors. Well, you would need to invest at least $1 million before you see any kind of reduction from the 0.89% fees they charge.

Summary Of Personal Capital

First of all, the free services are actually quite good. For the comprehensive level of analysis you get, albeit, by a computer, it is fantastic value.

Comparatively speaking, when you compare their somewhat higher than average management costs to those of a qualified Financial Advisor, you are still getting a great deal. That said, there are other providers who can provide you with this same service at a fraction of the cost.

The tool they offer for retirement planning is great. It is easy to use, and you can play out a number of different scenarios with ease. If you are a DIY Investor, their investment checking tool is also very handy for getting high-level recommendations as well. The retirement planner is second to none; I found it very useful to perform a number of role-playing situations.

With regards to their somewhat expensive Wealth Management Services, it would probably suit those who need regular Financial Advisor Support, in order to make it worthwhile in terms of your return on investment where the fees are concerned. Looking at the robo-advisor scene alone, they are a little less competitive.

Learn More at Personal Capital

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Our Other Reviews Of Top Robo-Advisors:


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

Charles Schwab Brokerage Promotions, Bonuses And Offers

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: May 13, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

Find all the new offers and bonus promotions from the Charles Schwab brokerage firm here. Along with TD Ameritrade, we rank Charles Schwab as one of the best stock brokers for beginners.

Charles Schwab is a brand well-known in the investment world. Founded in 1973, this brokerage firm now holds over 2.5 trillion in total client assets. You really can’t go wrong choosing this full-service broker.

Let’s review the current offers below.

Find the best stock brokerage promotions here.

Schwab 500 Free Equity & Options Trades Offer

With a qualifying net deposit of $100,000, you can earn 500 commission-free online equity and options trades good for 2 years.

500 free trades offer has no set expiration date (can terminate at any time)
Offer available to new and existing Schwab clients
Enroll and make a qualifying net deposit of $100,000 in your Schwab account within 45 days for your free trades
500 commission-free online equity and options trades are good for an entire year
The trades will be credited to the enrolled account within approximately one week of confirmation of your qualifying net deposit

Learn More


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

$100 Bonus With A Referred Schwab Account:

Here are the details:

To earn the $100 bonus, open an eligible account and make the minimum opening deposit of $1,000.
New clients who do not have a Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) account (other than a Stock Plan Services account), open an eligible retail brokerage account, and enroll in the offer can earn a $100 Bonus Award.
The Bonus Award will be credited to the enrolled account within approximately one month of account open.
For taxable accounts, the account must be maintained at Schwab for at least one year or Schwab may charge back the Bonus Award.
The offer is limited to one per account, with no more than one account enrolled per client.
Employees, contractors, or persons similarly associated with Schwab or a Schwab affiliate; their spouses; and employees of any securities regulatory organization or exchange are not eligible.
Schwab may decline requests to enroll in the offer at its discretion.
For taxable accounts, the value of all Schwab offers received will be reported as Other Income on your Form 1099-MISC if, when combined with Other Income earned, the value totals $600 or more during the calendar year.

See Offer

Refer Others

Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account

*Link this Online Checking account to a brokerage account with one of the above promotions

I love traveling, and discovered I needed a better solution for ATM withdrawals overseas, and while traveling in general. The High Yield Investor Checking Account is my secret weapon now. You can use the debit card at any ATM that accepts Visa worldwide.

Now here’s the best part – Charles Schwab doesn’t charge ATM fees anywhere, and they will reimburse you for ATM fees other banks/institutions charge!

You’ll have to open up a Charles Schwab brokerage account as well, but you’ll never have to use it, deposit funds into it, or keep any kind of balance while it’s linked to the Checking account. The reps understand people open up both accounts just to use the Checking, and will ask if you even have any interest in using the Brokerage services. This Checking accounts makes it onto our list of the Best Free Checking Accounts.

Learn More

Charles Schwab $500 Brokerage/IRA Bonus

Up to a $500 cash bonus with this offer

This $500 bonus is available for new brokerage or IRA accounts and is tiered depending on your net deposit within the first 45 days of account oepning.

There is no set expiration for this $500 bonus offer. *Offer appears to be down but check the link
New Brokerage and IRA accounts qualify for this offer.
Your total cash bonus depends on net deposits as shown in the table below.
Only net deposits new to Schwab qualify. Deposits transferred from affilates other than Schwab Retirement Plan Services are excluded.
Net deposits are calculated on the 45th day after enrollment.
Cash bonus amount will be credited within one week after the 45th day.
You must maintain the net deposit amount in your Schwab account for at least one year or you may forfeit the bonus.
Your bonus, combined with any other offers from Schwab within the last 12 months, may not exceed $5,000 per household.

Learn More

Earn Up To A $500 Bonus
Net Deposit	Cash Bonus
$10,000 – $24,999	$100
$25,000 – $49,999	$200
$50,000 – $99,999	$300
$100,000+	$500

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Compare To These Brokerage Bonuses:

I currently invest via TD Ameritrade because I like their ThinkorSwim platform so much; they are very good about consistently offering sign-up bonuses. Betterment and Wealthfront are good choices as automated investing solutions. See all current brokerage offers here.

*Check back here for new Charles Schwab promotions, bonuses and offers.

Fidelity Promotions: $2500 Cash, 500 Free Trades, Other Offers

Fidelity is another top stock brokerage firm often compared alongside Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, etc. We rank Fidelity as one of the best stock brokers for Research tools.

They are one of the largest brokers when you’re talking sheer number of clients. Low fees and great features are what Fidelity is all about.

Along with great service, they are always providing very attractive sign-on bonuses and offers for new accounts. I’ll keep up with such promotions below.

While I prefer Tradestation and TD Ameritrade’s ThinkorSwim (my current favorite), Fidelity does have a pretty nice platform in Active Trader Pro.

Now, on to the promotions…

500 Free Trades For 2 Years

Get up to 500 free trades for 2 years when you open and fund a Fidelity IRA or brokerage account or add new money to an existing one.

No stated expiration for offer
IRA or Brokerage account eligible for promo
New AND Existing Fidelity accounts eligible

Trades Earned	Deposit Amount	Access to Active Trader Pro
300	$50,000-$99,999	Yes
500	$100,000+	Yes

Learn More

Offer Terms:

This offer is valid for new or existing Fidelity customers.
In order to receive the commission-free trades, you must designate an existing eligible Fidelity IRA or brokerage account or open and fund a new eligible Fidelity IRA or brokerage account with net new assets.
Deposits of $50,000-$99,999 will receive 300 free trades, and deposits of $100,000 or more will receive 500 free trades.
Trades must be used within 2 years of being credited to the customer’s account.
Commission-free trades must be designated to the one account receiving the qualifying assets or amount, and are limited to online domestic equities and options trades.
Options trades are limited to 20 contracts or less per trade; for orders beyond these limitations, standard commission rates apply.
No cash compensation will be given for any unused commission-free trades.
Offer is nontransferable, limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months and may not be combined with other offers.
Fidelity reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions or terminate this offer at any time.
To be eligible, customers must register online at www.fidelity.com/ATP500free or through a representative.
New accounts or designated eligible accounts must be funded within 60 days (“qualification period”).
Cash, eligible securities, and/or margin debit balance transfers from multiple sources will be aggregated to determine total account funding; assets will be valued at the time Fidelity receives them.
Allow up to seven business days for assets to be registered in the system.
Funding must come from an external, non-Fidelity source via any standard monetary transfer method (a standard Transfer of Assets form, check, Electronic Funds Transfer, ADM deposit, etc.); rollovers from a former employer’s Fidelity record kept workplace savings plan are treated as coming from an external source for purposes of this offer.
Net new assets mean external new money in minus money out, including distributions and transfers, during the qualification period.
Account holders must maintain a minimum account balance of $50,000 of net new assets for this free trade offer (minus any losses related to trading or market volatility) for at least nine months from the date on which the trades are credited to the account, otherwise commission charges may be incurred retroactively on free trade executions based on the applicable commission rate under Fidelity’s Commission & Fee Schedule.
Eligible accounts include non-retirement (Individual or Joint) or Fidelity IRA (Rollover IRA, Traditional IRA, Inherited IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA) accounts in which individual security trading is not prohibited and which meet the minimum account opening or funding requirements.
The promotion is not available for the following account types/products: business accounts (including those opened by union officials); trust accounts; fiduciary accounts (including custodial accounts, estate accounts); non-prototype accounts; college investment trust accounts; 529 college savings plan accounts; Fidelity accounts managed by Strategic Advisers, Inc. (i.e. Portfolio Advisory Services); Institutional Wealth Services (IWS) clients; clients of registered investment advisors working with Fidelity Investments; annuities; and Stock Plan Services accounts.
Offer is not valid for non-U.S. residents; persons employed by FINRA or a securities organization in a regulatory capacity; employees of Fidelity, its affiliates, and members of their immediate families and households, or the media who cover financial services. Certain states and local jurisdictions have laws that limit or restrict public employees from accepting items of value from vendors such as Fidelity that provide services to public institutions. Some public entities such as governments, state universities, health care organizations, etc., also have internal policies that may contain similar restrictions. If you are a public official or employee, you should determine if one of these laws or internal policies applies to you. By accepting this incentive, we assume that you are in compliance with your jurisdiction’s laws and institution’s internal policies.


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

Get Up To $2500 Deposit Bonus!

*Fidelity has taken down several offers including this one; check the link below for updates

Up to $2,500 cash with this offer

Earn up to a $2500 deposit bonus when you open and fund a Fidelity IRA or brokerage account or add new money to an existing one.

IRA or Brokerage account eligible for offer
Offer valid for new OR existing Fidelity accounts
You must fund within 60 days of registering for the offer
Bonus amount determined by deposit amount ($200 to $2500)
No stated expiration for offer

Learn More

Deposit Amount	Cash Bonus
$50,000	$200
$100,000+	$300
$250,000+	$600
$500,000+	$1200
$1,000,000+	$2500

Important Terms:

Offer is nontransferable, limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months, and may not be combined with other offers.
Customers must register at rewards.fidelity.com/offers/depositbonus.
New accounts or designated eligible accounts must be funded within 60 days (“the qualification period”).
Funding must come from an external, non-Fidelity source via any standard monetary transfer method (a standard Transfer of Assets form, check, electronic funds transfer, ADM deposit, etc.).
Rollovers from a former employer’s Fidelity-record kept workplace savings plan are not eligible for this offer.
Cash, eligible securities, and/or margin debit balance transfers from external sources will be valued at the time Fidelity receives them.
Cash bonus will be calculated on net deposits into any qualifying accounts over the qualification period from the time of registration for the offer.
For purposes of this offer, net deposits shall mean total external deposits or transfers (including cash, eligible securities and/or margin debit balance transfers) minus assets withdrawn or transferred out of the accounts within the qualification period.
Account holders must maintain the minimum qualifying account balance (minus any losses related to trading or market volatility, or margin debit balances) at Fidelity for at least nine months from the date on which the bonus award is credited to the account, or Fidelity may charge the account the cost of the bonus award.
In addition, account holders must not use qualifying deposits to purchase insurance or annuity products offered or distributed by Fidelity within 60 days of receiving a bonus award, or Fidelity may charge the account the cost of the bonus award.
Please allow 2-4 weeks after the qualification period for the bonus award to be credited to your account.
Eligible accounts for this offer include nonretirement (individual or joint) or Fidelity IRA (rollover IRA, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA) brokerage accounts which meet the minimum funding requirements for this offer.
Inherited IRA accounts are not eligible.
The promotion is not available for the following account types/products: mutual fund only accounts; business accounts (including those opened by union officials); trust accounts; fiduciary accounts (including custodial accounts, estate accounts); college investment trust accounts; 529 college savings plan accounts; annuities; Fidelity accounts managed by Strategic Advisers, Inc. (for example, Portfolio Advisory Services); Institutional Wealth Services (IWS) clients; clients of registered investment advisors working with Fidelity Investments, and Stock Plan Services accounts.
Offer is not valid for non-U.S. residents; persons employed by FINRA or a securities organization in a regulatory capacity; employees of Fidelity, its affiliates, and members of their immediate families and households, or the media who cover financial services.

$500 Apple Gift Card Promo

*Fidelity has taken down several offers including this one; check the link below for updates

Earn an Apple Gift Card valued up to $500 when you open and fund a non-retirement brokerage account or add new money to an existing one.

Offer tends to expire and renew periodically
Non-retirement Brokerage accounts are eligible for offer
New AND Existing accounts eligible
Deposit $75,000+ for a $300 Apple Gift Card
Deposit $150,000+ for a $500 Apple Gift Card

Learn More

Terms:

This offer is valid for new or existing Fidelity customers.
In order to receive an Apple® Store Gift Card (“Gift Card”), which can be redeemed at any Apple Store®, you must designate an existing eligible Fidelity non-retirement brokerage account or open and fund a new Fidelity non-retirement brokerage account.
Deposits of $75,000 to $149,999 may receive a $300 Gift Card and deposits of $150,000 or more may receive a $500 Gift Card.
Offer is nontransferable, limited to one per individual per rolling 12 months, and may not be combined with other offers.
Customers must register at www.fidelity.com/apple.
New accounts or deposits into existing accounts must be funded within 60 days of registration.
Funding must come from an external, non-Fidelity source via any standard monetary transfer method (a standard Transfer of Assets form, check, electronic funds transfer, ADM deposit, etc.).
Cash, eligible securities and/or margin debit balance transfers from external sources will be aggregated to determine total account funding over the 60-day period following offer registration and assets will be valued at the time Fidelity receives them.
Net new assets means external new money in minus money out, including distributions and transfers within the qualification period.
Account holders must maintain the minimum qualifying account balance (minus any losses related to trading or market volatility) for at least nine months from the date on which the Gift Card is issued, otherwise Fidelity may charge the account the cost of the Gift Card.
In addition, account holders must not use qualifying deposits to purchase insurance or annuity products offered or distributed by Fidelity within 60 days of receiving a bonus award, or Fidelity may charge the account the cost of Gift Card.
Gifts Card will be mailed via United States Postal Service to the mailing address on the eligible Fidelity account.
Allow four to six weeks from date of qualification for delivery.
Eligible accounts for this offer include non-retirement (individual or joint) Fidelity brokerage accounts which meet the minimum funding requirements for this offer.
The promotion is not available for mutual fund only accounts, business accounts (including those opened by union officials); trust accounts; retirement accounts, including, among others, Fidelity IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, and SIMPLE accounts; 401(k) and 403(b) workplace retirement plans; fiduciary accounts (including custodial accounts, estate accounts); college investment trust accounts; 529 college savings plan accounts; annuities; Fidelity accounts managed by Strategic Advisers, Inc. (for example, Portfolio Advisory Services); Institutional Wealth Services (IWS) clients; clients of registered investment advisors working with Fidelity Investments, and Stock Plan Services accounts. Offer is not valid for non-U.S. residents; persons employed by FINRA or a securities organization in a regulatory capacity; employees of Fidelity, its affiliates, and members of their immediate families and households, or the media who cover financial services.

Fidelity Offers Up To A 10% IRA Match

*Fidelity has taken down several offers including this one; check the link below for updates

You can get an annual match bonus of anywhere from 1% to 10% for your Fidelity IRA account with this offer.

No set expiration for offer
To receive this offer, select “Open an IRA” or “Fund an existing IRA” or call them at 800-343-3548
Open a new Fidelity IRA or register an existing one. Please note, rollovers from workplace savings plans are not eligible for this offer.
Transfer your IRA to Fidelity within 60 days. After 60 days, they’ll set your match rate.
When you make your annual IRA contributions, they’ll match those contributions up to a total of $1,950 over the next 3 years.
The match percentage is based on your IRA transfer:

Your IRA transfer	Your annual match
$10,000-$49,999	1.0%
$50,000-$99,999	1.5%
$100,000-$249,999	2.5%
$250,000-$499,999	5.0%
$500,000 and above	10%

Learn More

*Don’t forget to check out all available stock broker promotions on my list here

*You may also be interested in offers on our Bank Promotions Page

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

More Top Brokerage Promotions

Merrill Edge Review: $600 And Free Trades Promotions

Get the latest promotions, bonuses and offers from Merrill Edge here. Merrill Edge makes it onto our list of the best online stock brokers with its powerful Research tools.

Merrill Edge was launched in 2010 after Merrill Lynch was bought out by Bank of America. While Merrill Edge does offer special perks for Bank of America customers, anyone can open an account with this stock broker and make use of all it’s features.

For standard investing strategies and goals, Merrill Edge has just enough features to fit the bill. Personally, I prefer using the ThinkorSwim platform with TD Ameritrade, but it never hurts to keep your options open.

See current promotions from Merrill Edge below.

Merrill Edge $600 IRA/CMA Bonus

You can earn up to a $600 bonus for a new Merrill Edge IRA or Cash Management Account (CMA) with this offer.

$600 bonus offer has no stated expiration date
Use offer code 600ME
You can also get up to 100 $0 online equity and ETF trades for 90 days
You can take advantage of the offer with the online link below, by calling 888-637-3343, or by asking a Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisor for the offer at select Bank of America financial centers.
To qualify for a cash bonus, you must make a qualifying deposit to your new account within 45 days and maintain your qualifying deposit for at least 90 days.
You’ll receive your cash bonus within 2 weeks after the 90-day qualifying period.
You Cash Bonus depends on your qualifying deposit as follows:

Qualifying Deposit	Cash Bonus
$20,000 to $49,999	$100
$50,000 to $99,999	$150
$100,000 to $199,999	$250
$200,000+	$600

Learn More

Free Trades Eligibility: Commissions are only waived for online stock and ETF trades conducted via an individual or jointly owned online investing and trading personal CMA or IRA account.

Qualify for 30 $0 online stock and ETF trades per month as a Preferred Rewards Platinum client.
Or qualify for 100 $0 online stock and ETF trades per month (meet either one of these criteria):
- Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors client
- U.S. Trust Client

Learn More


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

See These Brokerage Promotions As Well

Get all the current top bonus offers on our Brokerage Promotions Page here. Popular ones have been from TD Ameritrade, Wealthfront and E*Trade.

E*Trade Brokerage Promotions & Bonuses: $2,500 In Cash

E*Trade has always been one of the most popular stock brokers online, and we vote it as one of the best for trading all markets/instruments (Stocks, Options, Forex, Futures, and Mutual Funds).

While it isn’t the cheapest of all the online brokers in terms of commissions, E*Trade is still very well liked for it’s features and clever marketing campaigns.

Most consumers like the ease of website navigation, features of their industry leading mobile app, and the vast educational material that E*Trade offers.

In this article, I’ll keep with all the promotional offers and bonus cash opportunities with E*Trade. You can always see all the new offers from all brokers here.

*If you’d rather have professionals handle your investments, take a look at the very popular services from robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront.

Get 500 Free Trades & $2,500 In Bonus Cash!

Up to $600 in bonus cash with offer

This promotion does have an expiration date, but it just about always renews so just check the link below.

Offer has a set expiration date but always renews.
Offer valid for one new E*TRADE Securities non-retirement brokerage account
Earn a cash credit & free trades based on your deposit or transfer amount.
Credits for cash or securities will be made based on deposits or transfers of new funds or securities from external accounts made within 45 days of account open.
Your account will be credited within one week of the close of the 45-day window, as follows:

Bonus	Deposit or Transfer Amount
$2,500 Bonus + Free Trades	$1,000,000+
$1,200 Bonus + Free Trades	$500,000 – $999,999
$600 + Free Trades	$250,000 – $499,999
$300 + Free Trades	$100,000 – $249,999
$200 + Free Trades	$25,000 – $99,999
Only Free Trades	$10,000 – $24,999

For the Free Trades:
- You will receive up to 500 free trade commissions for each stock or options trade executed within 60 days of the deposited funds being made available for investment in the new account (excluding options contract fees).
- You will pay $6.95 for your first 29 stock or options trades (plus 75¢ per options contract) and $4.95 thereafter up to 500 stock or options trades (plus 50¢ per options contract). Your account will be credited for trades within a week.
- Account must be funded within 60 days of account open.
- You will not receive cash compensation for any unused free trade commissions.
New funds or securities must remain in the account (minus any trading losses) for a minimum of six months or the credit may be surrendered.

Learn More


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Compare To These Brokerage Promotions:

Be sure to see all the latest Stock Broker Promotions here. Other popular offers include bonuses from TD Ameritrade and E*Trade.

Wealthsimple Promotions: $10,000 Managed For Free

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: May 9, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

Wealthsimple has only been around since 2014, and it is already Canada’s largest financial robo-advisor service. It launched into the US on January 31, 2017 and is expecting a dramatic increase in the uptake of its services, commensurate with the massive potential of the US market.

Wealthsimple’s staff is made of up world-class financial advisors, software engineers, designers and data scientists, many of whom have experience working for companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon. The company boasts offices in Toronto, London and New York. The numbers continue to climb but as of quarter 1, 2018 Wealthsimple has over $2 billion (CAD) in assets under management and more than 75,000 clients. Wealthsimple touts itself as a socially responsible investment option.

While Wealthsimple is not the only robo-advisor to waive account minimums and account management fees for deposits under $5,000, it certainly is a feature which is noteworthy for small investors who are otherwise locked out of the market by companies who require large account management fees which would likely eat into the small account balances over time.

Overall, Wealthsimple’s services will perform well for small and new investors, as well as for investors with more than $100,000 to spend.

Minimum Investment	$0
Fees	Under $5k: Free; $5k – $100k: 0.50%/year; $100k+: 0.40%/year
Account Options	Taxable, Traditional IRA, SEP IRA, Joint, Rollover IRA, Trusts, Roth IRA
Promotions	Referrals will get you and the referred client $10,000 managed for free for 12 months

Learn More at Wealthsimple

How Does Wealthsimple Work?

Wealthsimple calculates a client’s tolerance for investment risks through responses to a questionnaire. It then recommends an investment portfolio mix which is suited to those tolerances.

Wealthsimple’s service features single stock diversification, tax loss harvesting, direct indexing, fractional shares and human advisors.

The company has three different account types, three different investment mixes and two different plans to choose from, which are outlined below.

Different Account Types

Personal Account. This is Wealthsimple’s most popular account. It is a regular taxable investment account. While the account does not come with any tax benefits, it does have the dynamic feature of giving clients the freedom to further invest in or draw on their deposits, without restriction. This account is a great option for those looking to improve their investment returns on their taxable investment account through the power of a respected robo-advisor.
Traditional IRA. This account allows clients to invest their pre-tax dollars. Tax is not applied to the money in the account until it is withdrawn in retirement when it is presumed the calculated taxation rate would be less. Early withdrawals are subject to taxes and penalties from the IRA. This is a popular retirement account because of its flexibility and tax-advantaged savings for the future. It is worth pointing out to would-be investors that because of the rules relating to taxation, this account is best suited to individuals looking to retire in the next ten years or so.
Roth IRA. This is yet another tax-advantaged account, however, instead of using pre-tax dollars clients invest after-tax dollars. The benefit of this account is that while income tax is charged on deposits, withdrawals and capital gains are tax-free. It is similar to traditional IRA accounts in that further penalties and taxes apply to withdrawals made prior to retirement. The exception to this rule is when clients withdraw money from the account for a down payment to purchase their own home. This account is best suited to young professionals or those with a long timeline before retirement.

Investment types

Wealthsimple’s management strategy utilizes the modern portfolio theory, developed by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Harry Markowitz. This strategy is based on the maximization of returns on investment through the diversification of investment purchases.

Wealthsimple provides three portfolio classifications, each differing in risk classification, for clients to choose from. These portfolio classifications are outlined below:

Conservative – 65/35 stock/bond split
Balanced – 80/20 stock/bond split
Growth – 50/50 stock/bond split

As a point of comparison, the ETFs between Betterment’s portfolio and Wealthsimple’s portfolio is almost exactly the same, so no new ground is being broken with this offering.

Plan types

Clients can choose between a traditional investment portfolio and a socially responsible portfolio, which invests in 6 ETFs including emerging technologies, improving the diversification of local investments, affordable housing, social enterprises and clean energy. This allows clients who prioritize socially responsible enterprises to feel good about their investments while growing their personal wealth.

Signing Up For Wealthsimple

Signing up to Wealthsimple involves three easy steps:

New clients fill in an online information form which helps Wealthsimple to identify each individual’s risk tolerance for investments
Clients then select 1 or more of Wealthsimple’s Investment Management Options
Bank details are verified online.

Once these steps have been completed, it will take about five days for the client’s account to be up and running, and Wealthsimple will take care of the rest. Clients investing less than $100,000 are placed into the Wealthsimple Basic Program. Clients investing more than $100,000 are placed into the Wealthsimple Black Program. I outline the features of each program below.

Wealthsimple Basic Program

This is the basic investment service offered to those with less than $100,000. The management fee is 0.50% per year. It has the following features:

Automatic rebalancing – Wealthsimple will periodically buy and sell investments to keep its client’s portfolios in line with their stated targets.
Dividend reinvestment – Dividends are automatically invested back into the same ETFs, rather than paid out to clients, so the investment portfolio continues to grow.
Automatic Deposits – Clients can set their own schedule for payments from their Savings or Checking accounts into their Wealthsimple investment account.
Financial advice and support via phone, text and email.

Wealthsimple Black Program

This is a complete investment service designed for investors with $100,000 or more to invest. The service provides all of the offerings outlined in the Wealthsimple Basic Program and unlocks a discounted management fee of 0.40% as well as other goodies, such as a financial planning session with one of Wealthsimple’s human financial advisors and other tax-efficiency features such as tax-efficient funds and tax loss harvesting. The management fee rate is competitive with other robo-advisors on the market, such as Betterment, which offers premium services at 0.4% to 0.5%. Another option, Wealthfront, charges a 0.25% management fee (referral bonuses will help with this fee)

For those frequent flyers out there, the Wealthsimple Black Program also offers its members Priority Pass membership which allows VIP access for the member and a guest to over 1000 airport lounges around the world. I use my Priority Pass membership all the time while traveling, which I received with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and this service has been awesome.

The Wealthsimple Black Program provides a great investment service level for people with a reasonable amount to invest, who otherwise would not have access to the more expensive traditional investment brokers and advisors in the marketplace.

Who Is Wealthsimple Suitable For?

There are two distinct categories of clients who will benefit from using Wealthsimple’s services. They are:

New and small investors looking to enter the market, but who have little to no capital to invest. Wealthsimple’s decision to have no account minimum and no account management fees for deposits less than $5,000 makes it the perfect starting place for new or small investors to dip their toes in the investment pond.
Investors with over $100,000 to deposit. These investors get the benefit of Wealthsimple’s Black Program with lower account management fees and other perks, such as a free consultation with a human financial advisor to assist with goal setting, tax loss harvesting and VIP access to over 1,000 airport lounges around the world.

Pros & Cons Of Wealthsimple

Pros

The service is simple to understand and easy to use. With just three account types, three classifications of tolerance to risk and two plan types, investors need only make a few decisions to get a diversified portfolio which immediately starts to work for them.
No account minimum. As previously noted, Wealthsimple’s decision not to have an account minimum requirement is a welcome service offering new investors and for those with a little capital to invest.
Fractional shares. The ability to purchase fractional shares means investors can be assured all of their money is invested and working for them all of the time.
Live Support. Clients have access to live support services to assist with the use of the management tool and investment advice. This is a welcome service offering in an industry which is notorious for giving its clients little to no support.
Socially responsible portfolio. This is a standout in the robo-advisor market. Clients choosing this option can feel good about their investments while still growing their personal wealth. Wealthsimple’s socially responsible portfolio requires the robo-advisor algorithms to prioritize investments in clean energy, advances in clean technology, low carbon emissions, socially responsible companies and the like.
Portfolio Review. Wealthsimple offers its clients a free portfolio review of accounts held with third parties. This service provides clients with an objective assessment of the performance of these third party accounts. The assessment includes an examination of account fees, taxation efficiencies and portfolio allocation.
Available in Canada and the United States of America. While most robo-advisor services stop at the border between Canada and the United States of America, Wealthsimple has managed to step the divide. Wealthsimple was created in Canada, which remains its base. The company expanded into the US market at the end of January 2017. Wealthsimple has enjoyed an envious level of expansion since its inception in 2014. It now has over $2 billion in assets under management and over 75,000 clients. The company is likely to continue on its expansion program within the American market. If this is successful, Wealthsimple may be a very stable location to invest your money for the long-term.
Secure and insured accounts. Each account is secure and insured by the SIPC for up to $500,000, so clients are offered piece of mind about their investments with this company.

Cons

High fees for investors with more than $5,000 and less than $100,000. While Wealthsimple’s lack of fees for small investors under $5,000 and the rate of 0.40% for investors in Wealthsimple’s Black Program is an attractive proposition for these classes of investors, it is a little on the pricey side for investors who fall between these categories. This is because their account management fees are charged at 0.50%, which is up to twice as much as its robo-advisor competitors, such as Betterment and Wealthfront, who each charge 0.25% for their basic services.
No function to set goals. Other robo-advisor services such as Betterment, Wealthfront and WiseBanyan have goal setting functions which I think would be a welcome addition to Wealthsimple’s simple service offerings.
Investment mix. While Wealthsimple’s portfolio model is similar to those provided by other robo-advisors, it would benefit from the addition of investments in commodities and real estate investment trusts which would further diversify the offerings of investment portfolios.

Summary Of Wealthsimple

With no minimum account balance and no management fees for deposits under $5,000 and a full investment service for deposits over $100,000, this is the perfect service for clients fitting between these two spectrums of investment types.

Wealthsimple’s service offering is simple and easy for clients to understand. Its three account types, three investment mixes and two different plans to choose from mean most people will find a product which is suited to their needs. Unfortunately, Wealthsimple’s account management fees at 0.5% just cannot compete with the 0.25% rate offered by other robo-advisors, such as Betterment and Wealthfront. Investors falling within $5,000 and $100,000 in deposits would be better served to look at these services which purchase similar ETFs and therefore enjoy similar returns on investment.

Wealthsimple’s standout feature lies with its socially responsible investment option which deposits client’s money into morally and socially responsible organizations and enterprises. This option helps clients to feel good about their investments while making money from them. It is definitely the company of choice for those investors who want to make certain types of morally based investment decisions.

Learn More at Wealthsimple

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Compare Robo-Advisors

Truth is, it’s hard to say which one robo-advisor is the best in the market. Most are using many of the same ETFs and other investment options in their portfolios. Void of any major dips or crashes in the market, most will average a yearly return of 8-11%. Just about all the big brokers have their own robo-advisory service so you may opt to simply go that route if you’re already a client with them. Otherwise, consider your projected investment capital and match that with the robo-advisor that will save you the most on fees. I review many of the other automated investment options below.

WiseBanyan Review 2018: World’s First Free Robo Advisor

Established in 2013, WiseBanyan’s founders Herbert Moore and Vicki Zhou saw the apparent mismatch between the values of financial advisors and their clients, along with the unreasonable management fees and significant minimum account balances demanded by investment companies and decided something had to change. They decided to embark upon a new venture which would become the “world’s first free financial advisor“, and the financial robo-advisor WiseBanyan was born.

WiseBanyan, like most other financial robo-advisors (e.g. Personal Capital, Wealthfront, Betterment) uses specially designed software and algorithms to provide online financial advice and portfolio management with little to no human intervention. While robo-advisors have the advantage of being able to offer financial advice at a much lower price point than their human counterparts, most are not free. WiseBanyan changed the state-of-play in the robo-advisor market by offering an investment product which did not charge account management fees.

The company now boasts $100 million in assets under management and has around 25,000 users.

It effectively has democratized investing, by giving individuals who were previously locked out of the market, due to minimum account balance requirements, an opportunity to dip their toes in the investment pool without having to worry about losing all of their investment returns paying service providers account management fees.

WiseBanyan has been featured in these outlets

How WiseBanyan works

It only takes $10 for a new client to set up an account with WiseBanyan. While it can take up two weeks for the account to become funded, it is usually less than five business days. Once the account is funded, the new client gets access to tools and a dashboard which will show them their investments at a glance.

Clients are asked a few questions when setting up their WiseBanyan account. These questions are designed to rate and identify the client’s individual preferred investment “risk score”. This score is used by the company’s algorithms to create a recommended portfolio of passively managed exchange traded funds, (“ETFs”), designed to match the individual’s own risk tolerance. As noted above, clients maintain the ability to check and adjust their investments through the tools and dashboard provided by WiseBanyan’s user interface.

Investors can outline their desired goals, or milestones, by telling the service what financial goals they want and when. WiseBanyan’s algorithms will then go to work monitoring, recalculating and automating the client’s deposits in a way to maximize their chances of reaching their desired goals within the stated timeframe. Clients may have multiple milestone portfolios, which include Rainy Day, Retirement, Custom and Build Wealth options. Investments can be deposited automatically into individual milestone portfolios.

Investment portfolios are largely made up of seven different types of ETFs. Not every portfolio will have all seven types of ETFs as the exact makeup will depend on the client’s individual risk profile. The common ETFs are:

iShares TIPS Bond ETF
iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
Vanguard REIT ETF
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets

It is important to note that while WiseBanyan does not charge account management fees, the underlying ETFs do charge fees. WiseBanyan has sought to keep these costs down by selecting a group of well-established, low fee funds to invest in.

If WiseBanyan Is The “World’s First Free Financial Advisor,” How Does It Make Money?

“World’s First Free Financial Advisor”

WiseBanyan does not charge account management fees. However, it does charge for premium or “a la carte” services, such as tax-loss harvesting (called “WiseHarvesting” in WiseBanyan’s language). While other robo-advisors charge account management fees, tax loss harvesting usually forms part of their basic service package offering and does not cost extra. WiseHarvesting is just the start of the paid service offerings to come from the company.

In addition to its free service, WiseBanyan does offer a customized management service with a personal touch for an annual fee of 0.50% to 1.0%.

WiseBanyan also keeps a keen eye on running costs in order to minimize the need to charge fees. For example, electronic statements are provided for free, however, if clients require a paper statement a fee of $10 per statement or $150 for a year of monthly statements applies. However, Fees are also charged for transferring money out of the account and for payments made via paper check.

As WiseBanyan was founded in 2013, it remains to be seen whether this is a business revenue model which can last in the long term.

Who Is WiseBanyan Suitable For?

WiseBanyan’s approach of not charging account management fees or requiring a minuscule minimum account balance means anyone can use its service, from individuals just starting to experiment with financial investment to experienced investors with large asset management requirements.

WiseBanyan is the perfect starting place for younger people and new investors to start out on their investment journey. In fact, it is the only place for would-be-investors with less than $100 to start their investment portfolio. It may be one of the only opportunities for new investors to get some experience and grow their modest nest eggs without them being eaten away in management fees and other costs.

This model of service is also ideal for retirement investors who want free account management and investment guidance tailored to meet their stated milestones.

Pros & Cons Of WiseBanyan

Pros

$1 minimum account requirement and no account management fees. Clients only need $10 to open an account with WiseBanyan. The minimum account balance is $1. Further, Wisebanyan’s approach of not charging account management fees means most other robo-advisors on the market just cannot compete when it comes to fees and charges.
WiseBanyan investment portfolios allow for fractional shares. One of the reasons clients can start up an account with very little money is WiseBanyan has retained FolioFN as its broker-dealer. FolioFN is a stand-out in the marketplace because it allows fractional shares. So, while clients may not be able to buy a full share for $10 they can purchase a fraction of a share and still make returns on very small investments. It also means all of the client’s money is invested. There is no loose change lying around in WiseBanyan’s investment accounts. All of the money is invested and working hard making a return, no matter how small the amount.
Dynamic account management software. WiseBanyan’s service offerings include updated investment recommendations when clients choose to increase or decrease their risk scores.
Automatic weekly, monthly or quarterly payments. WiseBanyan offers a service to make automatic weekly, monthly or quarterly payments into their clients’ investment accounts to assist in making investing effortless.
WiseBanyan does not restrict clients to their own exchange traded funds. This is both a positive and a negative. Clients are not forced to use their advisor’s own funds for investment deposits. However, WiseBanyan misses out from this important revenue stream, whereas competitors such as Schwab with its Intelligent Portfolios product, are able to offer fee-free services because they are able to make money on the fees charged from investing in their own ETFs.

Cons

All of the client’s investment eggs end up in WiseBanyan’s basket. Clients are required to liquidate their investments prior to making a transfer of an account to WiseBanyan. This means clients are forced to put all their eggs in WiseBanyan’s basket.
There is currently not enough data to compare WiseBanyan’s market performance with its competitors. It is expected any long term difference between the performance of portfolios of WiseBanyan clients and their competitors is likely to be minimal because WiseBanyan’s portfolios are made up of ETFs which are equal to those used by every other robo-advisor. However, at this stage, it is worthwhile noting there is not enough data available to make a meaningful comparison.
Limited investment mix. Although WiseBanyan sports a wide investment mix, its portfolios do not include municipal or emerging market bonds or natural resources. Clients wishing to invest in such a space will need to find another service provider to meet their needs.
Does not allow for certain account types. Wisebanyan does not allow joint taxable or a custodial account for children, which is an exception to the service offerings provided by WiseBanyan’s competitors. At this stage, clients may only open Traditional & Roth IRAs, individual taxable accounts, Rollover IRAs or SEP IRAs. This means the pool of individuals who can take advantage of the company’s free service offering is necessarily limited. There may be an improvement in this space if we can rely on WiseBanyan’s reports of providing more account options in the future. Such a move would provide the company with the distinct advantage of increasing its marketable client base.
Not the best choice for taxable accounts. While WiseBanyan is a great place for small investors and new investors to start out, it does not provide the best service offering for individuals with a taxable account which would benefit from tax-optimization services. WiseBanyan’s tax optimization services form part of their paid service offering. I think there are other robo-advisors on the market which have better versions of tax-harvesting software than WiseBanyan at a same or similar price point and as such would be preferable.
Investors with over $500,000 may be better served by WiseBanyan’s competitors. Investors with over $500,000 of investable money tend to like using robo-advisors because they like to be independent in their investment decisions but they want a little guidance along the way. Unfortunately, on balance I think investors with more than $10,000 to invest may find they are better served by some of the more advanced, paid robo-advisor services, such as Vanguard and Betterment. Clients with at least $100,000 to invest should consider the services of Personal Capital.
WiseBanyan is suited to buy-and-hold, rather than regularly trading investors. WiseBanyan is also suited to buy-and-hold investors, rather than those who wish to trade regularly on the stock market. The product is designed to best suit those investors who don’t want to pay a lot in fees and who want to put their money into an investment account and know that it will be rebalanced according to their personal risk tolerance.
The company’s website interface is not user-friendly. Reviews indicate everything on WiseBanyan’s site feels clunky, from logging-in to using the site’s investment tools. One wonders whether the user experience has been sacrificed for WiseBanyan’s goal to provide fee-free robo-advice? Keeping in mind that many clients often invest all of their spare money into these services, the perception of value for money is likely to be high on their list of priorities. Even though WiseBanyan’s service is fee-free, clients are still charged fees in association with their ETFs so that perception will bite WiseBanyan in this space.
Question mark over the long-term sustainability of WiseBanyan’s revenue model. At this stage, it seems most competitors cannot compete with WiseBanyan’s free account management offerings. However, it remains to be seen if this is a model which can be sustained in the long term. It is currently not clear whether WiseBanyan has enough assets under management to cover the cost of its free service offerings. The long-term sustainability of WiseBanyan’s business model has not yet been tested and may be of concern to investors looking to develop a long-term investment relationship or those seeking to invest their money in a company they know will be around when it comes time for them to retire.

In Summary

It appears no one can compete with WiseBanyan’s minuscule minimum account balance requirements and their waiver of account management fees for clients with deposits under $500,000.

New players, such as Schwab with its Intelligent Portfolios product, have entered the market seeking to challenge WiseBanyan’s free service offering. However, there are pros and cons to the Intelligent Portfolios product, which still make WiseBanyan an attractive investment choice for small investors. For example, WiseBanyan allows for the ownership of fractional shares. In contrast, Schwab’s Intelligent Portfolios requires clients to hold significant amounts of low-yielding cash. In this case, I think WiseBanyan is the better option of the two products as all of the client’s money is working hard for a return on the investment.

WiseBanyan is ideal for people looking to start investing or small investors. It is also perfect for the buy and sit investors who want to watch their portfolio grow over time, rather than those who want to trade-to-grow their investments.

While there is a question mark over the long-term sustainability of WiseBanyan’s revenue model, the other robo-advisor services on the market simply cannot compete with the free account management service offered by this company. WiseBanyan can, therefore, be recommended for small investors, those looking to start their investment portfolio and retirement investors who want free account management and investment guidance tailored to meet their stated milestones. At the other end of the spectrum, WiseBanyan is also a good consideration for those with over $500,000 to invest as their premium packages are very competitive.

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Compare Robo-Advisors

As a full disclosure, I currently use Wealthfront for my automated investing needs, but this market is very competitive and I wouldn’t say any one provider stands above the rest. You’ll have to weigh the fees vs. your initial and projected investment needs. You can always decide to change at a later date. Whoever you decide to go with, you’ve made a great choice in planning for your future and retirement.

Wealthfront Promotions: $5,000 Managed Free + $5,000 Per Referral

Find the latest Wealthfront promotions, bonuses and offers here. Similar to Betterment (another popular option) and Motif (great customized portfolios), Wealthfront is another robo-advisor that sets you up with automated investing. Wealthfront is my editor’s pick for automated investing and I currently have an actively managed account open with this provider.

For more in-depth reviews of Wealthfront, I like the sources below:

See current Wealthfront offers below.

First $5,000 Managed For Free (Previously $15,000)

Wealthfront trusts that you’ll like their service so much, they have an offer to manage your first $5,000 for free. Their previous promotion prior to April 1 of 2018 was for $10,000 to $15,000 managed for free. The decision to lower this amount was due to Wealthfront investing heavily on new features and services to grow their service even more moving forward. Luckily, you can still make referrals and receive an additional $5,000 managed for free per eligible referral.

Promotion has no set expiration date.
Get your first $5,000 managed for free
Once you become a Wealthfront client, you can also participate in the invitation program and refer your friends where each of you will receive an additional $5,000 managed for free.
If you participate in the invitation program, you can reduce your account fees for every person you invite who funds an account with Wealthfront.

Get $5,000 Managed Free

*Update: Wealthfront will no longer manage $10,000 for free for new clients starting April 1st, 2018. If you already have an account with Wealthfront, this will have no effect on your account. You’ll still maintain your original sign-on benefit, along with the referral benefits you’ve earned. They will continue to offer everyone the ability to get an additional $5,000 managed free for every referral who funds a new account (see details below).

Unlimited Referral Bonuses (Get An Additional $5,000 Managed Per Referral)

Feel free to post your referral links in the comments section below!

Once you have an open and funded Wealthfront account, you can then start making referrals. Just like when you use my referral link above, your referrals will receive the offer for $5,000 managed for free.

For every person you refer that opens and maintains a funded account, you’ll receive an additional $5,000 managed for free. Thanks to Moneysmylife readers, I’ve received numerous successful referrals since posting my link. Again, thank you!

*I encourage anyone who opens an account with Wealthfront to return to this page and post your personal referral link in the comments section.

Get $5,000 Managed Free

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

Here Are More Top Brokerage Promotions To Consider:

I keep all stock broker promotions updated here.

More At MoneysMyLife You May Like:

Check back for the latest promotions and bonuses from Wealthfront here.

FutureAdvisor Review 2018: Promotions And Offers

FutureAdvisor was first launched in 2010 and is driven by a team of software engineers, data scientists, and licensed financial professionals. Notably, it is also backed up with investment from the same team who backed Google. To date, FutureAdvisor manages more than $900 million in assets. For clients who choose to use their Premium paid service, accounts are held with two well-known and highly trusted brokers, TD Ameritrade and Fidelity. The major drawback to this service comes with the fees that are charged. In addition to the FutureAdvisor fees, both Fidelity and TD Ameritrade may also add on their individual transactional fees.

The first thing to mention about FutureAdvisor is that if you want to try out the service, you can do so completely free of charge. It isn’t overly feature-rich, but it does come with some convenient integrations that allow you to manage accounts which are held with TD Ameritrade and Fidelity centrally from within its platform. It also offers a range of basic features which are free to use or low cost, comparatively speaking, such as the 401(k) management and its 529 college savings plan. That said, other providers in this space such as Wealthfront and Betterment offer more features than FutureAdvisor. Moreover, the fees with FutureAdvisor are somewhat higher than its robo-advisor competitors.

A good match for TD Ameritrade and Fidelity customers

As an online investment advisory service, FutureAdvisor will manage your investments automatically. It uses something called Modern Portfolio Theory that is otherwise referred to as MPT. The service will help you to create and retain a portfolio that optimizes the return on investment based on the levels of risk you indicate that you are comfortable with in your profile when you sign up. You can also change these preferences at any point in time, and it is fairly easy to do this on the FutureAdvisor site.

Overall, it is a solid competitor against other similar services that are provided to you by companies such as Wealthfront, Personal Capital, and Betterment. It depends entirely on the individual services you are looking for as to whether it competes well against others in the marketplace.

QUICK FACTS
Management Fee	0.50% for Premium (several services are free to use)
Account Minimum	$10,000
Promotion	Use their Retirement Advice services for free
Year Founded	2010
Supported Account Types	Taxable Accounts, 401k Plans, IRA Accounts, Roth IRA Accounts, Trust Accounts, 529 Plan Accounts
Tax Loss Harvesting?	Yes, for paid Premium accounts

How Does FutureAdvisor Work?

The FutureAdvisor paid Premium service delivers management of IRAs and taxable investment accounts. This includes traditional, rollover, Roth and SEP IRAs. Essentially, you give the service permission to trade within your accounts (TD Ameritrade or Fidelity) on your behalf. As mentioned in the introduction, this robo-advisor firm does offer some of its services for free. One of these free-to-use services is an in-depth retirement analysis. This feature enables its users to link accounts and receive specific recommendations that are tailored to the respective portfolios along with the individual goals of the client that are set out when you sign-up and create a profile.

Outside of this, the paid Premium service charges a management fee of 0.50%, which is a little higher than some other automated investing services. FutureAdvisor also requires a minimum balance of $10,000. It offers tax-loss harvesting, flexible access to a team of licensed Financial Advisors and investment management with the added bonus of automated rebalancing.

Once you sign-up for the FutureAdvisor service, you are able to easily link together any other investment accounts, or you can also report any of your other holdings manually. The robo-advisor service will then review everything and analyze this through the dashboard. Their recommendations are then offered, which are completely tailored to your individual goals and your unique portfolio.

Once they have crunched the numbers, the retirement plan recommendation will be broken down into nine stages. This will then be periodically updated, and advice will be given as to whether there is a better option or room for improvement. The good element of this service is that FutureAdvisor will explain its rationale and show you the ‘why’ behind their recommendations. This extra bit of detail is something that investors quite like, along with the fact the updates are available in real-time. This is a real plus to their services and an area that some of their competitors fall short in.

Who Is FutureAdvisor Suitable For?

Anything that is free is surely worth a go. When you consider the level of detail that FutureAdvisor goes into here, it’s an impressive offering that you pay nothing for at all. Based on this, it is worth a look for sure. You can get a really good insight into the best way to manage your portfolio using their in-depth account analysis, and the rebalancing reminders are pretty useful too. Even if you don’t sign up for their Premium service or if you are currently with another broker and don’t want to switch over, you can use their free tools to then make decisions with your own broker.

FutureAdvisor is ideal for clients who already have accounts with TD Ameritrade and Fidelity. If you want to use a robo-advisor service without the hassle of moving funds out of Fidelity or TD Ameritrade, it is a good choice.
Those who have at least $10,000 to invest or transfer
Investors that prefer a DIY approach
Those who would like access to licensed financial advisors

Pros and Cons of FutureAdvisor

Pros

Free Services. The portfolio analysis is a great freebie and something which can be used whether or not you intend to use their paid service. This free service will also provide you with an system alert when it is rebalancing time. DIY investors who might want to get a second opinion will find the tailored recommendations and advice extremely useful. This advice can be used with any account, regardless of where it is being held. The trading recommendations that are provided completely free of charge are founded upon MPT, which is the same methodology that is widely used by many other robo-advisor services. So essentially, you can take what they are recommending and initiate that with any other broker that you might be using.
Tax Loss Harvesting. If you are a premium customer, then tax-loss harvesting is included in your list of benefits as well. Understandably, this is not available with the free version.
Linking Accounts. FutureAdvisor makes it really easy to link up with eligible broker accounts. Currently, this only applies to TD Ameritrade and Fidelity. This nifty feature allows them to access your account and perform trades on your behalf. It’s a real plus for those who prefer to have everything taken care of for them with minimal input required.
Flexibility. Unlike some other robo-advisor services such as Wealthfront or Betterment, FutureAdvisor will give you advice based on your existing portfolio, without the need for you to first transfer the assets across to them. This is a significant feature and one which many other firms do not currently offer.
Review Your Trades Prior to Adjustments. Another great feature of the FutureAdvisor robo-advisor service is that it will let you fully review your existing investments before it makes the recommendations for adjustments. This means that any implications such as taxes will be fully considered before you sell what you have.
Fidelity and TD Ameritrade Customers. If you already hold accounts with either of these brokers, then you are in a real win-win situation. FutureAdvisor will not request you to move these accounts. All you need to do is to provide FutureAdvisor with permission to manage the assets for you, and they will then be able to trade on your behalf. It provides a risk-free way to use robo-advisor services to your advantage, and there is no hassle with transferring anything over to them from either of these companies.
Licensed Financial Advisors. As a customer of the FutureAdvisor Premium service, you get access to a team of advisors that you can access in a range of methods that suit you. Talk to them on the phone, via live chat or send them an email. It is even possible to pre-arrange an appointment time with a licensed Financial Advisor. Each and every trade that occurs within an account is backed-up by a human advisor. This means you get the complex and meticulous methodologies of the robo-advisor service as well as the safety net of a real person who monitors all that occurs within your accounts as well. The best of both worlds and for some, this completely justifies the slightly higher than average management fees that are charged by the FutureAdvisor Premium service.
Clean and Easy Viewing. The interface offered by FutureAdvisor is clean and straightforward to navigate around. Especially when compared to the likes of Wealthfront. Users report it takes no time at all to find their way around the system.
529 Account Management. This is another plus point of the FutureAdvisor service. Offering management of your 529 college savings plan is another good element to their offering and not something many of the other robo-advisor services currently offer.

Cons

The Management Fees. When compared side-by-side with other robo-advisors that are operating within the same space, the Premium plan offered by FutureAdvisor comes with an annual management fee of 0.50%. Not to mention, this is on top of the investment expenses that may be charged by Fidelity and TD Ameritrade. They have noted that, where possible, they prioritize the use of funds that are commission-free.
The Account Minimum. If you want to use the Premium service at FutureAdvisor, you need to have a minimum of $10,000. Compared to others who offer this service, this is a relatively high amount. Although to be fair, I must note that there are a lot of others out there who have a higher account minimum such as Vanguard Personal Advisor and Personal Capital ($50,000 and $100,000, respectively).
Upper Age Limits. The FutureAdvisor service will help you up to the point of retirement, but not after. New premium clients are not accepted over the age of 68 years. The company states that this is because their allocations focus on return on investment as opposed to generating income.

Other Accounts. If you hold accounts outside of TD Ameritrade or Fidelity, then you’ll be a little inconvenienced here. This is because their focus has been on making it easy for clients of these two particular brokers to use the service. FutureAdvisor will help you move any accounts or assets you might have, though, if needed.

Bottom Line

The range of free services offered by FutureAdvisor is plentiful, and we must applaud them for this. The management of the 529 college plan along with the in-depth analysis and portfolio recommendations make this a great service to use, irrespective of whether you choose to move your assets to them under their Premium service.

FutureAdvisor is particularly beneficial for current customers of Fidelity or TD Ameritrade due to the fact there is a hassle-free approach to syncing accounts, allowing you to benefit from their robo-advisor service almost instantaneously.

The higher than average account minimum of $10,000 is a drawback to the service, as is its higher management fee, which comes in higher than others in this space.

In summary, there are a lot of positives to the service, and the FutureAdvisor website and platform is very straightforward and simple to use. If you want to get involved with a robo-advisor but are perhaps a little tentative about handing everything over to a computer driven process, this makes for a good option due to the human involvement of licensed Financial Advisors. I also feel it is a real thumbs-up for the customer support element of the FutureAdvisor business as they make it easy to speak with their team of skilled Financial Advisors either by phone, by email or by live chat. I also love the fact you can arrange a pre-booked appointment to talk with them if needed.

Overall, some really good pluses, but the minimum investment requirement and higher annual management fee can be a bit of a sticking point depending on your particular situation.

*My Investments Disclosure

I'm constantly tweaking my investment strategies as I gain more insight and as investment options evolve. Below is my current lineup. Thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade. This is the desktop platform I currently use to trade Forex, Futures and Equities. I mainly swing-trade, entering and exiting positions over a period of days to weeks. For the most part, I base my trading on Technical Analysis, following the tips I've learned from the james16 Chart Thread on forexfactory. As this is a high-risk endeavor, I only use a small portion of my pot. Vanguard funds. As the great Warren Buffet recommends, I invest a good portion into an S&P 500 index fund directly with Vanguard. Most of my investments here are in the VOO Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. With an Expense Ratio of just 0.04%, this is a great way to diversify and save a great deal on fees. Wealthfront. If you're a good number of years before reaching retirement, many finance experts suggest going with a robo-advisor. I've set my risk tolerance at high for now, and split a good portion of my investment funds between my Wealthfront and Vanguard accounts. With so many good reputable robo-advisors on the market, I decided on Wealthfront based on their track record, client reviews, and because I've been able to waive all management fees through their referral program. Fundrise. I wanted to have an alternative to stocks and bonds, and decided to dip my toes in the private real estate arena with Fundrise. I'm not all-in on this strategy just yet, and only have a small account open. Online Savings. This is how I store my emergency funds. The best online Savings accounts will provide much better rates than your traditional big banks will. You'll be able to make up to 6 withdrawals a month for emergency situations. Click the link to compare the nation's best rates. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. This is simply for fun and I can't recommend this option to anyone with all the unknowns. My investments in cryptocurrencies are minuscule, but it's fun following the madness.

More Investment Pages At MoneysMyLife

SpeedTrader Promotions: $500 Bonus (Free Trades) & 14 Day Platform Trial

By: Tony Phan | Last Updated: April 19, 2018 | This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program. Please visit our Advertiser Disclosure for additional details.

SpeedTrader is one of the best brokers for active day trading and they often provide promotions and bonuses that I’ll keep updated here.

Serving active traders since 1999, SpeedTrader is a New York based online stock broker specializing in online trading services. They provide direct access trading software for online access to trade equity, stocks and options.

Per-trade pricing starts at $4.49/trade, per-share pricing starts at $0.0044/share, and options pricing starts at $0.40/contract. The Direct market access offered by SpeedTrader means traders can route orders directly to the market, which allows for faster executions and better fills.

Below are the current sign-up promotions from SpeedTrader.

SpeedTrader $500 Bonus (In Free Trades)

This promotion is stated to be for a limited time and you’ll get $500 in free trades or 1 month of free trading.

Promotion Details

Get $500 in free trades or 1 month of free trading (whichever comes first).
Excludes routing and software fees.
Software fees are waived for clients generating $499 in monthly commissions.

Learn More at SpeedTrader


MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks With 16,000 ATMs and 5,100 branches throughout the United States, Chase Bank is second only to Wells Fargo with regards to the total number of branches. This makes the bonus offers from Chase extremely popular, and they always have several promotions to choose from. Full Review. Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus) Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses) Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus) Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus) Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus) Get a $750 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account with qualifying activities.Get a $350 Welcome Deposit for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Advance checking account with qualifying activities. Member FDIC. Apply online for a new TD Bank Checking account to earn either a $300 bonus for the TD Premier Checking account ( $2,500 in direct deposits required), or a $150 bonus for the TD Convenience Checking account ($500 in direct deposits required). This is a limited time offer. Full Review Learn More Barclays has two great card offers that should interest many who are looking for a solid travel rewards credit card. The Barclaycard Arrival^® Plus World Elite Mastercard^® has a 60,000 miles sign-up bonus worth $630 in travel. You'll be able to earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase and there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about. See Terms. Full Review The Barclays Arrival^® Premier World Elite Mastercard^®will earn you 75,000 miles each year (worth $750) if you spend $25,000 on purchases during the year. This credit card is intended for high spenders looking for a card to carry for the long-term. The card will earn unlimited miles at the rate of 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases. See Terms. Full Review CIT Bank is offering a 1.85% APY rate with their Money Market Account for all balances. This account is available online nationwide and consistently offers one of the best rates in the nation. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and there are no fees for opening or maintaining the account. Full Review Learn More Ally Invest is one of the nation's top choices for a low-cost stock broker, and they now have a promotion where you can earn a cash bonus of $50 to $3500, as well as $500 in commission-free trades. Your cash bonus value will depend on your deposit amount made within 60 days of account opening. Full Review Learn More Simple Bank has an offer where you can earn a $20 bonus after opening their free online Checking account that's available nationwide. You'll then be able to earn unlimited $20 referral bonuses. Direct deposit isn't a requirement and all you and your referrals need to do is open a new account and use the Simple Visa debit card to make a first purchase. Full Review Learn More More Top Picks Hide

MoneysMyLife Top Offer Picks

- Chase Total Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase Savings℠ ($150 bonus)
- Chase Total Checking® + Chase Savings℠ ($350 in combined bonuses)
- Chase Premier Plus Checking℠ ($300 bonus)
- Chase Total Business Checking® ($200 bonus)
- Chase College Checking℠ ($50 bonus)

Learn More

More Top Picks

Hide

SpeedTrader Pro Platform 14 Day Free Trial

Just go to the offer page and sign up to receive a 14-Day free trial of the SpeedTrader PRO platform.

Features

Fast trade executions
Direct access order routing
Advanced level 2
Real-time stock charting
Advanced order types
Multiple chart types and indicators
Multiple screen support
Point and click trading
Hot-key support

Learn More at SpeedTrader

Compare To These Top Brokerage Promotions:

Personally, I use the ThinkorSwim platform with TD Ameritrade for my trading. However, I swing trade, or hold positions over days to weeks.

You can find all current brokerage promotions here. If you’re new to investing, you might want to take a look at firms that set you up with auto-investing using powerful algorithms, such as Betterment and Wealthfront (where I personally hold an account). Below are some of the top offers currently:

Check back at this page for the latest SpeedTrader promotions and offers.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Review: $100 Sign-Up Bonus

Charles Schwab is considered to be one of the market leaders in the field of robo-advising with their Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Why? Because they have stuck with their promise not to charge account management fees.

The Charles Schwab Corporation was founded in the mid-1970s and today has almost $3 trillion in assets and just over 1.5 million corporate retirement plan members. They launched their Schwab Intelligent Portfolios service in Q1, 2015.

With a low account minimum of just $5,000, it opens the door for many individuals to get started with robo-advisor services with ease (competitors like Wealthfront and Betterment also have low minimums). Signing up is straightforward and quick to do. You just need to answer 12 simple questions, the answers to which will then assess your tolerance to risk and your overall confidence in making decisions of a financial nature. They prefer to use the term ‘”automated investing” as opposed to robo-advisor, but it is the same thing.

The standout feature of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is their internal ETFs which they select from their own services. This is different from other robo-advisor services like Wealthfront and Betterment, as they are brokers. Whereas, with Intelligent Portfolios, Schwab is self-clearing and uses its own ETFs. This does give them an advantage because they are not just a platform, such as is the case with Betterment and Wealthfront.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios $100 Sign-Up Bonus

Just like how you can earn $100 sign-up bonus for opening a new Checking Account, their Intelligent Portfolios product also is eligible for the $100 bonus opportunity.

Just use the offer page and click on the “Open an Account” button and you’ll see Intelligent Portfolios as an option to open.

A minimum deposit of $1000 is required to open most Schwab brokerage accounts.
New clients who do not have a Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”) account (other than a Stock Plan Services account), open an eligible retail brokerage account, and enroll in the offer can earn a $100 Bonus Award.
The Bonus Award will be credited to the enrolled account within approximately one month of account open.
For taxable accounts, the account must be maintained at Schwab for at least one year or Schwab may charge back the Bonus Award.
Schwab reserves the right to change the offer terms or terminate the offer at any time without notice. The offer is limited to one per account, with no more than one account enrolled per client.
The offer does not apply to accounts managed by independent investment advisors, the Schwab Global Account™, ERISA-covered retirement plans, certain tax-qualified retirement plans and accounts, or education savings accounts.
The offer is not transferable, saleable, or valid in conjunction with certain other offers and is available to U.S. residents only. Employees, contractors, or persons similarly associated with Schwab or a Schwab affiliate; their spouses; and employees of any securities regulatory organization or exchange are not eligible. Schwab may decline requests to enroll in the offer at its discretion.
Other restrictions may apply.
Consult with your tax advisor about the appropriate tax treatment of the Bonus Award before enrolling in the offer.
Any related taxes are your responsibility.
For taxable accounts, the value of all Schwab offers received will be reported as Other Income on your Form 1099-MISC if, when combined with Other Income earned, the value totals $600 or more during the calendar year.
Recent IRS guidance may impact your ability to make more than one IRA to IRA rollover in a one-year period.

Learn More

Featured Brokerage Promotions

TD Ameritrade Promotions

Ally Invest Promotions

SpeedTrader Promotions

Best New Stock Broker Promotions And Bonuses List!

Ally Invest

Betterment

Charles Schwab

ChoiceTrade

Cobra Trading

E*TRADE

Fidelity

Firstrade

FutureAdvisor

Just2Trade

Lightspeed

Merrill Edge

Motif Investing

Muriel Siebert

Personal Capital

Prosper

Robinhood

SigFig

SogoTrade

SpeedTrader

SureTrader

TD Ameritrade

TradeStation

Trading Lesson

Wealthfront

Best Online Stock Brokerages Summary

Best Overall Online Brokerage Picks

Best Online Brokers For Beginners

Best Brokers For Investment Market Selection

Best Online Brokers For Research

Best Low-Cost/Discount Brokers

The Runner-Ups

Stock Brokers Detailed Comparison

Different Levels Of SigFig Services

Who Is SigFig Suitable For?

How Does SigFig Work?

SigFig Portfolio Manager

Pros And Cons Of SigFig

SigFig Summary

TD Ameritrade Free Trades And $600 Bonus

Bonus Requirements

$1,500 Bonus And $150 Transfer Fee Rebate

Up To $1,000 Bonus And 90 Days Of Free Trades

TD Ameritrade $200 Bonus Per Referral!

What Is Fundrise All About?

What Are eREIT’s Exactly?

What Are eFunds?

What Are The Fees?

Fundrise Pros And Cons

Why Fundrise?

What Properties Does Fundrise Invest In?

Fundrise Investment Options

The Accountability Policy

How Accessible Is Fundrise?

Fundrise Promotions?

Final Thoughts

Ally Invest $3,500 Cash & Free Trades Offer

New Ally Invest Pricing & Info

Compare Ally Invest Pricing With Top Brokerages

Bottom Line

What Are Personal Capital’s Credentials?

Who Is Personal Capital Suitable For?

Pros And Cons Of Personal Capital

Summary Of Personal Capital

Schwab 500 Free Equity & Options Trades Offer

$100 Bonus With A Referred Schwab Account:

Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account

Charles Schwab $500 Brokerage/IRA Bonus

500 Free Trades For 2 Years

Get Up To $2500 Deposit Bonus!

$500 Apple Gift Card Promo

Fidelity Offers Up To A 10% IRA Match

Merrill Edge $600 IRA/CMA Bonus

Get 500 Free Trades & $2,500 In Bonus Cash!

How Does Wealthsimple Work?